Microstructure and texture evolution during cold rolling and recrystallization of Ni3Al single crystals

We have studied the texture and microstructure evolution during cold rolling of Ni3Al single crystals as a function of the initial crystal orientations and revealed that the cold rolling behavior of the single crystals are strongly dependent on the initial crystal orientations, especially on the initial rolling direction (RD). An optimum condition for thin foil fabrication is determined that the initial RD is close to < 001 >. According to the conditions we have successfully fabricated the wide and thin foils of binary Ni3Al by cold rolling the single crystalline ingots. The thinnest foils obtained so far are about 20 mu m in thickness and 50mm in width. This document reviews the current status of our research on the thin foils of intermetallic compound Ni3Al.