Papers by Keyword: Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD)

Abstract: The Armco iron is one of the purest commercial iron with very low levels of carbon, oxygen and nitrogen. In order to improve the mechanical properties, it is worth applying severe plastic deformation to obtain ultrafine-grained bulk materials, with grain size <1µm. In this study, samples of Armco iron were subjected to a technique of severe plastic deformation named Accumulative Roll Bonding (ARB). The important parameter of ARB is the number of cycles and then the von Mises equivalent strain. By means of the Electron BackScattered Diffraction (EBSD) technique, the texture evolution with the number of cycles was studied. The microhardness was also measured in function of the equivalent strain. Finally, the mean grain size and the fraction of high angle grain boundaries were determined as a function of the number of cycles.

Abstract: 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 °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° 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.

Abstract: Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) has become the preferred technique for characterizing the crystallographic orientation of individual grains in polycrystalline microstructures due to its ability to rapidly measure orientations at specific points in the microstructure at resolutions of approximately 20-50nm depending on the capabilities of the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and on the material being characterized. Various authors have studied the angular resolution of the orientations measured using automated EBSD. These studies have stated values ranging from approximately 0.1° to 2° [1-6]. Various factors influence the angular resolution achievable. The two primary factors are the accuracy of the detection of the bands in the EBSD patterns and the accuracy of the pattern center (PC) calibration. The band detection is commonly done using the Hough transform. The effect of varying the Hough transform parameters in order to optimize speed has been explored in a previous work [6]. The present work builds upon the earlier work but with the focus towards achieving the best angular resolution possible regardless of speed. This work first details the methodology used to characterize the angular precision then reports on various approaches to optimizing parameters to improve precision.

Abstract: It is possible to produce a nanocrystalline, multilayered composite structure with enhanced mechanical properties by assembling three 316L surface nanostructured stainless steel plates by roll bonding. The Surface Mechanical Attrition Treatment (SMAT) was first used to generate nanocrystalline layers on the elementary plates so that their mechanical properties were improved. They were then assembled through co-rolling. A composite structure of nanocrystalline layers of high strength alternating with more ductile layers was obtained to achieve both high strength and ductility. Microscopy observations and EBSD measurements were carried out and the bonding interfaces were analysed in detail to explore the mechanisms involved during the SMAT/Co-rolling duplex process.

Abstract: Texture and microstructure of FSW joined Al and Cu sheets were investigated by means of electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique. The analysis has revealed a strong texture evolution on both sides of the weld interface as well as a very complex microstructure. Grains were found to be fully recrystallized on both sides of the weld and with different average diameters at different specific zones of the weld.

Abstract: Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) steels have not yet been successfully joined by any welding technique. It is desirable to search for a suitable welding technique that opens up for full usability of TRIP steels. In this study, the potential of joining TRIP steel with Friction Stir Spot Welding (FSSW) is investigated. The aim of the study is to investigate whether acceptable welds can be produced, and additionally, to obtain an understanding of the microstructural changes during welding. The microstructure was investigated with a combination of microscopical techniques with the aim of identifying the transformations occurring during welding. Reflected light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron backscatter diffraction were among the methods applied for detailed investigations. The microstructure adjacent to the welds can generally be subdivided in two thermo-mechanically affected zones (TMAZ), and two heat-affected zones (HAZ). The dual behavior of the microstructure in the zones is related to the two transition temperatures in steel: A₁ and A₃. In parts of the TMAZ the microstructure contains ultra fine-grained ferrite. This finding parallels the observation in thermo-mechanically processed steels, where severe deformation at elevated temperatures is used to produce ultra fine-grained microstructures. Several possible transformation mechanisms could in principle explain the development of ultra fine-grained ferrite, e.g. dynamic recrystallization, strain-induced ferrite transformation and dynamic recovery.

Abstract: The oxidation behavior of Fe–Si alloys at 1073K in air was investigated. The oxidation kinetics described by the parabolic rate law of diffusion controlled oxidation and the oxidation rate decrease with the increasing Si content. Fe-Si alloys were oxidized for different times at 1073K to obtain the same scale thickness of approximately 30μm. Observations of scale cross-sections indicated the structure of oxide scale and elemental distribution in oxide scales strongly depends on Si content. The oxide scale on Fe-Si alloys with low Si content consisted of three layers with an outer Fe₂O₃, an intermediate Fe₃O₄ and an inner FeO and some voids were formed in Fe₃O₄ and FeO layers. The Si-rich oxide layer was formed at the scale/alloy interface of Fe-Si alloys with high Si content. Furthermore, the amount of internal oxidation zone increased with the increasing Si content. Observations of scale cross-sections indicated that the structure of oxide scale and elemental distribution in oxide scale strongly depend on Si content.

Abstract: Texutre evolution of 1235 aluminum alloy deformed at different strain rates was studied by dynamic thermal-simulated technology with the aid of some modern analytical and testing technique called election backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The results showed that the effect of strain rate on grain boundary and deformation texture of 1235 aluminum alloy was obvious. At deformation temperature for 400°C and distortion for 50%, the value of the maximum density level came to the minimum by 11.489 at the strain rate for 0.01s^-1. The texture was weaker for the grains were less likely to rotate. The relative volume of textures increased as the strain rate increasing. The relative volume of textures was merely 1.95% at strain rate for 0.01s^-1 but ascended to 5.4% at strain rate for 50s^-1.

Abstract: Effects of anisotropy on the microstructural characteristics and mechanical behavior of shock loaded of AZ31 magnesium alloy have been investigated. Using electron backscatter diffraction, tension twinning was observed in both shock loading directions along the normal (ND) and rolling directions (RD). Compression tests were carried out along ND and RD in both as-received and post-shock conditions. It indicated that the RD samples show a more notable hardening behavior compared to the as-received conditions. Moreover, it is postulated here that detwinning results in a drop of strain-hardening rate for the ND samples under post shock reload conditions and tension twinning formed during the shock wave loading process leads to a significant moving left of the peak strain hardening rate for the RD samples under post shock reload conditions.

Abstract: The effect of the metallurgical state of austenite (undeformed vs. deformed vs. deformed + recrystallised) on the properties of the austenite to bainite transformation were investigated thanks to thermal (Gleeble simulations) and thermomechanical (hot torsion) treatments. No obvious influence of the state of austenite was found, using electron backscatter diffraction, on the resulting microtexture. Advantages and drawbacks of using misorientation angle histograms vs. axis-angle pair distribution are discussed regarding investigations of local variant selection. For an austenite grain size higher than about 50 µm, a strong effect of the transformation temperature was evidenced, bainite formed at lower temperature (530°C) exhibiting a microtexture close to that of lath martensite in the same steel.