Assessment of local deformation using EBSD: Quantification of local damage at grain boundaries

Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) in conjunction with scanning electron microscopy was used to assess localization of the local misorientation to grain boundary. In order to quantify the degree of localization, a parameter, which was referred to as the grain boundary local misorientation, was proposed. Through crystal orientation measurements using deformed Type 316 stainless steel, it was shown that the grain boundary local misorientation increased with the applied plastic strain. Particularly, at several grain boundaries, the grain boundary local misorientation was more than 3 times the local misorientation averaged for the whole area. Surface observations revealed that the large local misorientation near the grain boundaries was attributed to the impeded slip steps rather than the number of slip steps observed on the surface. The magnitude of the grain boundary local misorientation had a week correlation with grain boundary length or grain boundary misorientation, and no correlation was found for twin boundaries. Finally, it was shown that the maximum grain boundary local misorientation could be estimated statistically, and the estimated maximum value for the specimen surface with an area of 80 mm2 was 10.6 times the averaged value.

► The grain boundary local misorientation was proposed. ► The maximum grain boundary local misorientation could be estimated statistically. ► The large local misorientation was attributed to the impeded slip steps.