EBSD Analysis of Friction Stir Weld Textures

Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) has become established as a convenient and accurate method for obtaining texture information. In friction stir welding, however, the complex, three-dimensional curvature of the deposited shear layers causes the textures to vary in orientation across the weld nugget. Only rarely are the EBSD data acquired in the shear deformation frame of reference. Thus, an analysis of those shear textures needs to take into consideration the local orientation of the shear deformation reference frame at the location of the analysis to appropriately identify the resultant texture. This article presents a systematic methodology for the analysis of friction stir weld textures that uses geometry-based rotations to align the analysis orientation to the local shear deformation frame of reference and thereby enable an accurate identification of the textures produced during the friction stir welding process.