Effect of the Channel Angle of One-Pass ECAP Prior to Cold Rolling on the Microstructure and Texture of Metallic Sheets

Abstract

Equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) was applied to 16mass%Cr steel sheets for one pass prior to cold rolling in order to improve formability and alleviate ridging of the sheets. Effect of channel angle of ECAP (90° and 120°) on the deformation microstructure and the subsequent recrystallization was focused. One-pass ECAP indeed modified the cold-rolled microstructures, texture and subsequent recrystallization as compared with that in cold rolling alone. In particular, grain-scale shear bands were introduced during ECAP in otherwise hard-to-recrystallize <001>//ND grains by ECAP, and they facilitated the recrystallization. However, the effect of reducing the channel angle from 120°to 90°on the recrystallization and the formability was limited in spite of higher shear strain imposed on the sheets.