EBSD study of superplasticity: New insight into a well-known phenomenon

Abstract Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) was applied to investigate the superplastic behavior of a fine-grain Al-Mg-Li alloy. It was found that microstructural changes were noticeably influenced by the occurrence of continuous dynamic recrystallization. This mechanism involved a transverse subdivision of pre-elongated grains which eventually transformed into chains of nearly-equiaxed grains. A body of experimental observations, including extensive strain hardening, marked grain elongation, the formation of pronounced substructure in interior regions of grains, and the development of crystallographic texture, provided strong evidence of large amounts of intragranular slip operating during superplastic flow. Data availability The raw/processed data required to reproduce these findings cannot be shared at this time inasmuch as the data are integral to an ongoing study.