The aim of this proposal is to study the origin of the hysteresis effect in many layered crystal structures, in particular MAX-phases, such as Ti2AlC. This effect has been attributed in the literature to the formation of kink bands small enough that they can contract on unloading. An alternative is that the plastic anisotropy that exists in such materials, allows some grains to yield, while others remain elastic. It is this onset of yield and its change with temperature and the effect on the stored energy that is to be investigated by in situ neutron diffraction during loading on the EnginX beam line.