Nucleation and recrystallization texture development in rolled Cu–10Zn brass

Abstract

Almost all of the inhomogeneities of deformation that occur in the microstructure of heavily deformed fcc metals and alloys can be observed in cold rolled 90–10 brass and potentially each of these is a site for the nucleation of recrystallized grains. In 90% cold rolled material the first nuclei developed in shear bands associated with volumes that deformed at an earlier stage by twinning. These nuclei had orientations of the form {110}〈112–001〉 and the nucleation process was associated with the formation of recovery twins. Other nuclei developed in microbands and therefore in volumes that had deformed only by slip. These nuclei were predominantly oriented at {110}〈112–001〉 but other orientations also occurred. Nucleation in this case was associated sometimes with recovery twins but also with boundary migration processes. Nucleation also occurred at the interfaces between different types of inhomogeneity. Shear bands did not develop in specimens rolled to a reduction of 60%; recovery twins were observed in the micro bands but these were not associated with nucleation. The implications of these observations for the development of the recrystallization textures are discussed.