Effect of processing variables on cube texture formation in powder metallurgically prepared Ni and Ni–W alloy tapes for use as substrates for coated conductor applications

Development of textures have been studied in powder metallurgically prepared pure Ni and Ni–5 at.% W alloy after heavy cold rolling (∼95% reduction in thickness) and annealing for use as substrates for coated superconductor applications. The cold rolling textures of the two materials do not show any significant difference. However, Ni–5 at.% W alloy is found to develop a much sharper cube texture after annealing which indicate the beneficial role of W in increasing the cube volume fraction in Ni. W increases the volume fraction of the cube component by decreasing the volume fraction of the rolling direction (RD)-rotated cube grains. Partial recrystallization studies clearly indicate that in contrast to pure Ni sharp cube oriented grains form in Ni–5 at.% W alloy right from the beginning of recrystallization. A near 100% cube texture is obtained in Ni–5 at.% W alloy by an optimized two stage rolling (TSR) procedure followed by annealing at 1350 °C.