Three-dimensional texture determination of 6111 aluminium alloy sheet by precise serial sectioning and EBSD measurement

A method of accurate serial sectioning has been designed for three-dimensional texture measurement in aluminium alloy sheet. Using this method, determination of three dimensional texture in an AA6111-T4P sheet has been carried out by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) from the sheet surface to 1/3 of the thickness. Optimal conditions for specimen preparation and SEM operation have been investigated to ensure minimum planar displacement or rotation among sections. It has been demonstrated that in the AA6111-T4P sheet the 10011<100> (cube), {011}<100> (Goss) and {011}<455> (P*) orientations are the major texture components. The through thickness averaged cube and Goss components are aligned parallel to the rolling direction forming a banded structure, and the bands of the cube and Goss are distributed alternately in the transverse direction. The variation in grain size is very limited compared with the texture components.