Recrystallisation of channel die deformed single crystals of typical rolling orientations

The effect of deformation microstructure heterogeneity on recrystallisation behaviour has been studied using channel die deformed single crystals of typical f.c.c. rolling texture components. These orientations exhibit a wide range of both spatial and orientational heterogeneity. The likelihood of recrystallisation nuclei developing from within the deformed microstructure is found to be directly related to the extent of this heterogeneity. The recrystallisation textures comprise both a retained deformation texture component, as well as a component close, but beyond, to one extreme of the deformation texture spread. The growth of recrystallised grains, regardless of orientation, is affected by the degree of heterogeneity of the deformation microstructure. For randomly oriented nucleation, and under equivalent annealing conditions, recrystallisation proceeds two orders of magnitude faster in the lower stored energy homogeneous {110}< 112 > orientation than in the {123}< 634 > orientation, with a much more heterogeneous microstructure and higher stored energy, even after recovery. (C) 2001 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.