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ABSTRACT
Improved strength-ductility synergy is not uncommon among metallic materials with gradient structures of grains and twins. In this work, we report that the texture gradient innately created in Al-Mn strips by twin-roll casting is also capable of increasing the material’s ductility without sacrificing its strength. Analyses based on crystal plasticity theory demonstrated that the underlying mechanism of this texture-gradient-induced ductility enhancement lies in the orientation-dependent slip and grain rotation, which generate backstress, alter the local stress triaxiality, and delay the fracture process. These results advocate the integration of texture gradient design into the fabrication of high-performance gradient materials.
GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Impact Statement
This work demonstrates for the first time that gradient texture could ductilize Al strips. It provides a new pathway — texture gradient design — to the fabrication of advanced structural materials.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the International Joint Laboratory for Micro/Nano Manufacturing and Measurement Technologies. Staff members at Beamline BL14B1, Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, are acknowledged for providing beam time and assistance during the XRD experiments. Dr. Jianfeng Wang from General Motors and Mr. Chongle Zhang at XJTU are acknowledged for the fruitful discussions. Boyu Pang is acknowledged for data visualization and proof-reading. Besides, the authors would like to express their gratitude to Dr. Fuxue Yan at XAUT and Wei Wang at XJTU for their help with the electron microscopes, and to Dr. Carlos Tomé at Los Alamos National Laboratory for sharing the VPSC 7d code.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).