Recrystallisation textures in iron resulting from nucleation at grain boundaries

Abstract

The influence of prior grain boundaries on nucleation of recrystallisation and associated texture development in iron has been investigated using deformed bicrystal specimens. The samples were designed to simulate as closely as possible the conditions of orientation and geometry existing in heavily cold rolled polycrystals. In all cases nucleation occurred preferentially at grain boundaries and resulted in well defined recrystallisation textures. The most significant finding was that components of the 〈111〉//ND γ-fibre texture gave rise to new orientations within the same fibre spread rotated ~30° around the normal direction. No evidence was found of systematic lattice rotations adjacent to the grain boundaries in the deformed state. The texture evolution is interpreted in terms of a compromise between the frequency of potential nuclei and their respective growth velocities. Present results permit rationalisation of several important aspects of texture development in conventional low carbon steels. © 1989.