Slip system determination by rolling texture measurements around the strength peak temperature in a Fe3Al-based alloy

Texture measurements were carried out on a Fe–26Al–5Cr alloy that was deformed by warm rolling at temperatures above and below the stress anomaly temperature in order to obtain information about a possible change of slip systems around that temperature. Special attention was paid to the initial microstructure, temperature during rolling and recrystallisation problems. Textures were determined by automatic crystal orientation mapping (ACOM) using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), which allows separation of measurement data from recrystallised and unrecrystallised fractions in the microstructure. A clear difference in texture evolution appears above and below the stress anomaly temperature; the most preferred orientations after rolling at 600 and 400 ◦C are ∼{5 5 7}〈1 1 0〉 and ∼{1 1 1}〈2 1 1〉, respectively. This result suggests that the shear fraction of the active {1 1 2}〈1 1 1〉 slip systems increases with respect to that of the {1 1 0}〈1 1 1〉 slip systems with increasing temperature around the stress anomaly temperature. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.