Anisotropic tensile ductility of cold-rolled and annealed aluminum alloy sheet and the beneficial effect of post-anneal rolling

The tensile behavior of an aluminum alloy sheet after heavy cold rolling and recovery annealing is highly anisotropic. The poor ductility of recovery-annealed specimens tested at 45° with respect to the rolling direction could be attributed to a strong rolling texture and the flow localization associated with intense shear banding, which was triggered by the yielding phenomenon. By applying post-anneal cold rolling, the yielding phenomenon was removed and the problem of ductility anisotropy was reduced significantly.