Microstructure and texture through thickness of ultralow carbon IF steel sheet severely deformed by accumulative roll-bonding

Ultralow carbon interstitial free (IF) steel was severely deformed up to a strain of 5.6 by the Accumulative Roll-bonding (ARB) process at 773 K. Crystallographic analysis by electron back-scattering diffraction (EBSD) technique in a field-emission type scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) was carried out for the ARB processed IF steel throughout thickness of the sheet. Microstructural parameters, such as grain size, grain boundary misorientation and crystal orientation, through thickness of the ARB processed specimen were quantitatively clarified by the EBSD analysis. The ARB processed material was homogeneously filled with the lamellar or pancake-shaped ultrafine grains whose mean grain thickness were about 200-300 nm. More than 80% of the boundaries surrounding the ultrafine grains were high-angle grain boundaries. The ARB processed sheet had unique and complex textural distribution through thickness. The region near the thickness center has the conventional but quite weak rolling texture mainly composed of 〈110〉//RD and 〈111〉//ND. On the other hand, the surface region had the sharp shear texture, ND//〈110〉. Such a textural distribution is due to the redundant shear strain induced by high-friction between the sheet and roll during rolling. The correspondence between the textural and microstructural distribution and the shear strain distribution throughout thickness of the sheet was discussed.