Determining a Stable Texture Condition Under Complex Strain Path Deformations in Face Centered Cubic Metals

Evolution of texture components during deformation of lightweight aluminum alloy sheet under different strain paths is studied by analyzing the evolution of element rotation calculated using a rate-dependent crystal plasticity finite element model. Based on a stability criteria proposed by Ali et al. (Light Metals 2016. Wiley, London, pp. 159–162, 2016), data from cold rolling, shear and compression simulations is analyzed to determine stable texture components. The predicted stable texture components, for the same microstructure, for rolling, shear and compression using the stability criteria are in-line with experimental observations. Further analysis of simulated data yields a simpler methodology that stable texture components are those that are aligned with the loading direction. Using this methodology, stable textures under rolling, shear and plane-strain compression are analytically identified and the results show an excellent conformity to experimental data. This new methodology can be included in robust non-texture based phenomenological modelling to predict texture evolution in engineering design problems.