Search

A new automated crystallographic orientation mapping tool in a transmission electron microscope technique, which is based on pattern matching between every acquired electron diffraction pattern and precalculated templates, has been used for the microstructural characterization of nondeformed and deformed aluminum thin films and twinning-induced plasticity steels. The increased spatial resolution and the use of electron diffraction patterns rather than Kikuchi lines make this tool very appropriate to characterize fine grained and deformed microstructures.

The evolution of the orientation relationship between mechanical twins and the surrounding matrix with the degree of plastic deformation has been characterized at the nanoscale in twinning-induced plasticity steel. The recently developed automated crystal orientation mapping in transmission electron microscopy revealed that the ideal twin relationship is retained up to large levels of strain, while large orientation gradients are built up within the matrix. This particular evolution undoubtedly plays a role in the large work hardening rate of these steels.© 2012 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Two major types of Cube bands/segments have been observed in heavily (90%) cold rolled Al-0.1wt %Mn using the EBSD technique with a FEG SEM: i) intergranular transition bands as thin cube segments aligned along RD between S and Cu oriented grains and ii) as transgranular strain localized bands situated in some particular grains. Their evolution is studied by light annealing at 275°C and 300°C and EBSD observations of exactly the same areas to directly correlate local deformation substructure with recrystallization. Only the intergranular cube transition bands give rapid recrystallization nucleation to cube grains of dimension >10µm. In particular the fastest growing cube grains have a near 40° relation with part of their surroundings.

A focused ion beam (FIB) coupled with high resolution electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) has emerged as a useful tool for generating crystallographic information in reasonably large volumes of microstructure. In principle, data generation is reasonably straightforward whereby the FIB is used as a high precision serial sectioning device for generating consecutive milled surfaces suitable for mapping by EBSD. The successive EBSD maps generated by serial sectioning are combined using various post-processing methods to generate crystallographic volumes of the microstructure. This paper provides an overview of the use of 3D-EBSD in the study of various phenomena associated with thermomechanical processing of both crystalline and semi-crystalline alloys and includes investigations on the crystallographic nature of microbands, void formation at particles, phase redistribution during plastic forming, and nucleation of recrystallization within various regions of the deformation microstructure.

International audience; The formation of Cube oriented elements in plane strain compressed aluminium has been studied by EBSD for both hot and cold deformations. By following the orientation changes of the same set of 176 grains deformed at 400 degrees C up to a strain of 1.2 using a split sample, it is shown that about 15% of the grains can break up into several regions of very different orientations, characterized by very large orientation gradients. In particular those grains oriented within about 30 degrees of Cube develop Cube oriented zones in contact with other rolling texture components. Finite element crystal plasticity simulations confirm this mechanism of creation of Cube by plastic deformation. The same type of microstructure can also be observed after heavy cold rolling (strain of 2.3), but at a scale that is much finer by at least an order of magnitude. In this case the micron-sized Cube fragments are located along many grain boundaries or in some particular grains. When the cold deformed sample is annealed, EBSD observations of the same areas reveal that the intergranular Cube fragments are very efficient recrystallization nucleation sites, apparently since they possess mobile high angle boundaries with the local environment.

The crystallographic alignment of microbands in a Goss oriented single crystal was investigated by two and three dimensional electron back scatter diffraction. The microband boundaries were found to be curved instead of being perfectly flat interfaces, and the overall alignment closely matched a potential slip plane. The bumps and curved were created during subsequent deformation and, thus, deviates the microband boundaries from crystallographic nature.

The three-dimensional structure of microband boundaries in a plane strain compressed Goss-oriented nickel single crystal was generated by the electron backscatter diffraction technique. Rather than being perfectly planar, microband boundaries generally contained bumps and curves. The planar segments of these boundaries have orientations that coincide closely with one of the expected {1 1 1} slip planes of this crystal.

The deformation microstructures of Al and Al–Mn {1 1 0}〈1 1 2〉 single crystals have been characterized after room temperature channel-die compression up to true strains of 2.1. The evolution of local misorientations and microband structures were quantified by high-resolution electron backscatter diffraction in a field emission gun scanning electron microscope and their alignments compared with the traces of active slip planes and macroscopic shear stress planes. During plane-strain compression these “Brass” oriented crystals remain stable in terms of the final, average, orientation, with a small orientation spread. However, the microband alignment varies with strain and also with solute content. There is a general tendency for the microbands to be both crystallographic and non-crystallographic at low strains, then crystallographic, and finally mixed again at high strains (with some lamellar banding).

International audience; The same section of deformed and annealed Al-0.1 wt.% Mn has been characterized by high-resolution electron backscattered diffraction to determine cube recrystallization nucleation. After 90% plane strain compression, two types of deformed cube segments were present in the microstructure: (i) thin segments along the rolling direction (RD) as "narrow transition bands" between grains; and (ii) fragmented bands inclined about 15 degrees to the RD as "strain localizations" inside grains. On light annealing, cube grains were preferentially nucleated along the intergranular RD segments. (C) 2009 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.