Deformation bands and the formation of grain boundaries in a superplastic aluminum alloy

Abstract

Superplastic aluminum alloys are often classified according to the mechanism of microstructural transformation during annealing after deformation processing. In Al-Cu-Zr materials, such as Supral 2004, the presence of fine (10 to 50 nm) second-phase particles retards dislocation rearrangement and the formation and migration of boundaries during either annealing or elevated temperature deformation after thermomechanical processing. This leads to predominance of recovery in the evolution of microstructure, although high-angle boundaries must still form in order to account for the superplastic response of such materials. The mechanisms of high-angle boundary formation in such circumstances have remained unclear. The term “continuous recrystallization” (CRX) has been used as a phenomenological description of recovery-dominated processes that take place uniformly throughout the microstructure and lead to the formation of fine grains with high-angle boundaries. Orientation imaging microscopy (OIM) methods have been employed to assess the as-processed microstructure of this alloy and its evolution during annealing at 450 °C, as well as during superplastic deformation at this temperature. Orientation images demonstrate the presence of deformation bands of alternating lattice orientations that corresponds to the symmetric variants of the brass, or B, texture component (〈112〉{110} in rolled material). During annealing, the high-angle grain boundaries (disorientation of 50 to 62.8 deg) develop from transition regions between such bands while the lower-angle boundaries (i.e., up to 20 deg) separate an evolving cell structure within the bands. Further OIM results show that the bands remain distinct features of the microstructure during either annealing alone or during deformation under superplastic conditions.