Origin of texture development in orthorhombic uranium

We study texture evolution of alpha-uranium (α-U) during plane strain compression and uniaxial compression to high strains at different temperatures. We combine a multiscale polycrystal constitutive model and detailed analysis of texture data to uncover the slip and twinning modes responsible for the formation of individual texture components. The analysis indicates that during plane strain compression, floor slip (001)[100] results in the formation of two pronounced {001} texture peaks tilted 10-15° away from the normal toward the rolling direction. During both high-temperature (573 K) through-thickness compression and plane strain compression, the active slip modes are floor slip (001)[100] and chimney slip 1/2{110}〈11¯0〉 with slightly different ratios. {130}〈31¯0〉 deformation twinning is profuse during rolling and in-plane compression and decreases with increasing temperature, but is not as active for through-thickness compression. Finally, we comment on some similarities between rolling textures of α-U, which has a c/a ratio of 1.734, and those that develop in hexagonal close packed metals with similarly high c/a ratios like Zn (1.856) and Cd (1.885) and are dominated by basal slip.