Materials Science Forum Vol. 550

Abstract: The microstructural anisotropy together with the crystallographic texture of an industrial grade of X70 pipeline steel is studied by means of the 3D-EBSD technique known also as EBS3 which was recently developed by FEI. Samples of size 8x10x3mm³ were cut from the middle thickness of an industrial rolled plate and after special sample preparation have been studied in a Nova 600 dual beam scanning electron microscope equipped with a field emission gun and HKL Channel 6 EBSD data collection software for crystallographic orientation, which allows multiple sectioning of the sample in automatic mode and, afterwards reconstruction of both the 3D microstructure and texture of the examined volume. Three scanned zones of different volumes that varied between 15x10x27 4m³ and 16x14x6 4m³ have been examined and the results for the crystallographic orientation, grain shape and grain shape orientation are discussed together with the data for the anisotropy of the Charpy impact toughness of the material.

Abstract: X-ray diffraction imaging allows the investigation of a large area of a polycrystalline specimen in a single shot. Dynamic processes like recystallization can, therefore, be studied without prior knowledge of where they occur. Even early stages of nucleation can be traced back using the information from images taken from the fully recrystallized specimen. Experiments performed at HASYLAB beamline G3 on cold rolled Cu and Al showed nucleation and growth behaviour that cannot be explained by classical models.

Abstract: Deformation behavior of Zr-Nb alloys under uniaxial compression, accompanied by phase transformations, is considered by the example of Zr-1%Nb and Zr-2.5%Nb alloys. Model samples were deformed at temperatures of β- and (α+β)-regions of the phase diagram Zr-Nb. Mechanisms, responsible for plastic deformation of alloys by different temperature-rate regimes, were determined on the basis of textures, arising in deformed samples. Among these mechanisms there are crystallographic slip in grains of β-Zr and α-Zr as well as mutual displacements of crystallites along interphase boundaries. The latter mechanism sharply intensifies under conditions of α↔β phase transformations and lies in the basis of superplasticity. An input of each mechanism into plastic deformation of material depends on the temperature-rate regime of compression and determines its anisotropy.