Investigations of the microstructural response to a cold forging process of the 6082-T6 alloy

•SEM-EBSD analysis confirms FEM calculations for friction tests.•Towards damage criteria according to Kernel Average Misorientation (KAM) and Grain Orientation Spread (GOS) values.•Cold forging process influences the 6082-T6 alloy microstructure even at low plastic strain.•Effectiveness of MoS2 Lubricant.

The microstructure of 6082 aluminium alloy in artificial aged condition was investigated before and after cold forming. The cold forming process was performed at room temperature with and without lubricant. An in depth microstructure investigation has been carried out through electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis. Different approaches were considered to quantify the plastic strain: the Line Segment Method (LSM) and the study of misorientations trough the Kernel Average Misorientation (KAM), the Grain Orientation Spread (GOS) and the Grain Average Misorientation (GAM). The evidence of intermetallic particles removal from their location during plastic deformation was observed. Values of plastic strain lower than 0.1 did not affect the grain size itself. Nonetheless it induced the development of sub-structures which may lead to the hardening of the alloy.