Effect of cold work and non-isothermal annealing on the recrystallization behavior and texture evolution of a precipitation-hardenable aluminum alloy

Microstructure and texture evolution during non-isothermal annealing of a precipitation-hardenable aluminum alloy with varying levels of cold reduction has been studied. It is found that a certain level of cold reduction is required to achieve a fully recrystallized, fine grained microstructure with a weak texture. Restoration mechanisms in non-isothermal annealing consist of extended recovery followed by grain growth in some preferentially oriented deformed grains at low annealing temperatures and discontinuous recrystallization with formation of randomly oriented grains at higher annealing temperatures.