  The diffraction peaks of Zircaloy-2 and Zr-2.5%Nb alloys at various
deformations are found to be asymmetric in nature. In order to characterize the
microstructure from these asymmetric peaks of these deformed alloys, X-Ray
Diffraction Line Profile Analysis like Williamson-Hall technique, Variance
method based on second and fourth order restricted moments and Stephens model
based on anisotropic strain distribution have been adopted. The domain size and
dislocation density have been evaluated as a function of deformation for both
these alloys. These techniques are useful where the dislocation structure is
highly inhomogeneous inside the matrix causing asymmetry in the line profile,
particularly for deformed polycrystalline materials.
