Development and stability during high temperature annealing of the cube texture in rolled Ni substrate materials

Abstract

The development and stability of the cube texture formed during annealing has been investigated, using rolled nickel sheets of 99.95% and 99.999% purity. Microstructure and texture were characterized using electron back-scatter pattern analysis in the scanning electron microscope. The texture following primary recrystallization in both materials showed cube volume fractions of up to 50% and 80% (99.95% and 99.999% Ni respectively). The average grain size of the cube textured grains during recrystallization was larger than for grains of other orientations. For both materials high temperature annealing resulted only in normal grain growth, leading to a significant strengthening of the cube texture. The results are discussed in terms of the relative effects of size, boundary mobility and boundary energy on the process of grain growth. For the 99.999% Ni material an annealing process using a continuous heating ramp to 1200 °C gave a further improvement in the cube texture.