In Situ Observation of Recovery and Grain Growth in High Purity Aluminum

We have used high energy x-ray diffraction microscopy (HEDM) to study annealing behavior in high purity aluminum. In-situ measurements were carried out at Sector 1 of the Advanced Photon Source. The microstructure in a small sub-volume of a 1 mm diameter wire was mapped in the as-received state and after two differential anneals. Forward modeling analysis reveals three dimensional grain structures and internal orientation distributions inside grains. The analysis demonstrates increased ordering with annealing as well as persistent low angle internal boundaries. Grains that grow from disordered regions are resolution limited single crystals. Together with this recovery behavior, we observe subtle motions of some grain boundaries due to annealing.