Grain Boundary Character Distribution in the Heat-Affected Zone of Friction Stir-Processed AL 7075 T7

Abstract

Current transmission electron microscopy (TEM) research (Cai et al., 2006) in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) of friction stir-welded Al 7075 T7 finds a correlation between precipitate-free zone (PFZ) width and grain boundary (GB) geometry. Based on these correlations, this article makes a comparison of grain boundary character distributions (GBCDs) in the HAZ and the parent metal via multisection plane five-parameter stereology. The stereology is conducted in a convenient macroscopic coordinate frame, associated with the HAZ. Further comparisons between the two microstructures are conducted relative to two-dimensional (2-D) GB network connectivity, recovered from electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) data in each section plane. It is shown that the relative fraction of GBs of misorientation character associated with smaller PFZ size is larger in the HAZ as compared to the parent material. A commensurate decrease in the connectivity (radius of gyration) of GBs of character conducive to larger PFZ size is also found in the HAZ, relative to the parent material. Distribution of inclinations changes as a function of GB geometry. Surface area per unit volume of low-angle random (LAR) misorientations increases in the HAZ, while high-angle random (HAR) and coincident site lattice (CSL) boundaries decrease. In the case of LAR and some CSL boundaries, a reorientation occurs in which macroscopic normals of these interfaces rotate.