X-ray diffraction measurements of grain size as a function of orientation in primary recrystallized silicon-iron

X-ray microdiffraction measurements were performed and Statistical Fluctuation Method (SFM) applied on various Fe3%Si specimens obtained processing industrial hot bands under different cold reduction and annealing conditions. A single parameter D*< hkl >, strictly depending on both average size and size distribution variance of equioriented grains (same < hkl >//ND) in the Primary Recrystallization (PR) microstructure, was evaluated for each sample. D*< hkl > described the relative size evolution of the {111} and {110} grains quite well. The number of the grains considered in every set of measures is statistically significative and this makes the method usefully complementary to other technique like ECP or EBSP, which are very precise but technically limited to the analysis of localized areas of a microstructure. The method is then particularly suitable to investigate Grain Growth (GG) and define process control procedures in production of all the materials in which texture plays a significative role.