Effect of Crystallographic Texture on the Anisotropic Tensile Behavior of Aluminum Foil and Its Industrial Application

Aluminum foil undergoes severe plastic deformation and multiple heat treatments during processing, and the texture characteristics become very identifiable. In this research, textured AA8021 aluminum foil was obtained by adjusting the fabrication process. The anisotropic behavior of aluminum foil was studied by tensile testing. The surface morphology and texture evolution of the aluminum foil were studied before and after tensile testing by means of digital microscopy, optical profilometry and electron backscattered diffraction. The experimental results showed that compared with the samples tested at 0° and 90° to the rolling direction, the samples tested at 45° to the rolling direction exhibited lower yield strengths and flow stresses due to the “soft orientation” of most grains. Additionally, when the aluminum foil was tensile tested at 45° to the rolling direction, the shear bands on the surface of the aluminum foil were long, dense, bent and crossed. The rotation of cube grains caused the aluminum foil matrix to undergo significant geometric hardening, increasing the strain hardening index n. Additionally, the rolling texture improved the anti-thinning ability of the aluminum foil at 45° to the rolling direction, significantly increasing the ultimate strain reached in the 45° direction. These research results provide important theoretical guidance for improving the drawability of aluminum foil box-shaped parts by adjusting the microtexture under industrial conditions.