AbstractThe annealing behaviour of an Al–6 wt-%Ni alloy containing a dispersion of second phase particles has been studied. It is shown that for a particle diameter of 0·3μm, annealing takes place by extended recovery. However, for a particle diameter of 1·7μm, discontinuous recrystallisation occurs. The relationship between continuous and discontinuous annealing phenomena is discussed, and measurements of the particle limited subgrain and grain diameters are compared with theory.MST/3211