The application of EBSD methods to evaluate grain boundary character of fine-grain pure aluminum

Ultra-fine grain sizes may be achieved by severe plastic deformation utilizing equal-channel angular (ECA) pressing. Grain sizes of similar to 1.0 mu m have been reported for pure aluminum processed by repetitive ECA pressing and submicron grain sizes have been attained in aluminum-magnesium alloys. However the grain boundary characteristics developed in materials processed by the various repetitive ECA pressing routes remain to be fully assessed. Measurement of grain-to-grain misorientations by use of recently developed computer-aided electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis methods enables the evaluation of grain boundary character in severely deformed materials. A background on EBSD analysis and its application to examination of the evolution of the grain-to-grain misorientation and microtexture during repetitive ECA pressing of pure aluminum is provided.