Correlation of Grain Size, Stacking Fault Energy, and Texture in Cu-Al Alloys Deformed under Simulated Rolling Conditions

The effect of grain size and stacking fault energy (SFE) on the strain hardening rate behavior under plane strain compression (PSC) is investigated for pure Cu and binary Cu-Al alloys containing 1, 2, 4.7, and 7 wt. % Al. The alloys studied have a wide range of SFE from a low SFE of 4.5 mJm−2for Cu-7Al to a medium SFE of 78 mJm−2for pure Cu. A series of PSC tests have been conducted on these alloys for three average grain sizes of ~15, 70, and 250 μm. Strain hardening rate curves were obtained and a criterion relating twinning stress to grain size is established. It is concluded that the stress required for twinning initiation decreases with increasing grain size. Low values of SFE have an indirect influence on twinning stress by increasing the strain hardening rate which is reflected in building up the critical dislocation density needed to initiate mechanical twinning. A study on the effect of grain size on the intensity of the brass texture component for the low SFE alloys has revealed the reduction of the orientation density of that component with increasing grain size.