Quantification of deformation microstructure at ultra-low tensile strain in pure Al prepared by spark plasma sintering

A sample of Al with grain size of 5.1 mu m, prepared by spark plasma sintering, was deformed to a nominal strain of 0.35% under exposure to X-ray synchrotron radiation, allowing spatially resolved orientation measurements to be made during loading by use of a micro-diffraction technique. A significant heterogeneity in the deformation pattern between grains was observed. A statistical analysis shows that grain deformation depends more on crystallographic orientation than on grain size, with grains with tensile axis lying towards the <001>-<101> border of the unit triangle tending to undergo larger deformation. Other possible reasons for the different deformation behaviour between individual grains are briefly discussed.