Three-dimensional texture determination of 6111 aluminium alloy sheet by precise serial sectioning and EBSD measurement

Abstract

A method of accurate serial sectioning has been designed for three-dimensional texture measurement in aluminium alloy sheet. Using this method, determination of three dimensional texture in an AA6111-T4P sheet has been carried out by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) from the sheet surface to 1/3 of the thickness. Optimal conditions for specimen preparation and SEM operation have been investigated to ensure minimum planar displacement or rotation among sections. It has been demonstrated that in the AA6111-T4P sheet the {001}〈100〉 (cube), {011}〈100〉 (Goss) and {011}〈455〉 (P*) orientations are the major texture components. The through thickness averaged cube and Goss components are aligned parallel to the rolling direction forming a banded structure, and the bands of the cube and Goss are distributed alternately in the transverse direction. The variation in grain size is very limited compared with the texture components.

Keywords:

• 3D TEXTURE
• SERIAL SECTIONING
• EBSD
• ALUMINIUM ALLOY 6111
• ROPING