The role of nano-segregation in the evolution of {411}<148> recrystallization texture in ferritic alloys

International audiencePolycrystalline metals undergo crystal rotations during thermomechanical processing. Rolling of bcc metals into sheets, gives rise to the so-called rolling textures, consisting of alpha and gamma fibers. Subsequent annealing and recrystallization generally have a softening effect on the texture intensity, however, texture memory from earlier material processing stages is evident. In low-carbon steels, the final texture typically consists of the {111} and {11h} fibers. Within the latter, a rather interesting feature of the recrystallization texture is the {411} texture component. This texture component is frequently observed in interstitial free (deep drawing applications) and electrical steels (magnetic flux carriers), yet the specifics of its origin and growth are not clear. Texture evolution can also be dramatically affected by alloying elements which tend to segregate on interfaces. In this study, we investigate the effect of Sn alloying in Fe-Si alloys and their static recrystallization behavior. To link crystallographic orientation preferences with chemical information, we use texture analysis with sequential electron back-scatter diffraction complemented with site-specific chemical analysis by atom probe tomography. High-stored energy nucleation of recrystallization is found to be greatly affected by Sn. An intriguing aspect of texture evolution with nano-segregation is that the recrystallization of the {411} texture component is considerably strengthened. The effect of Sn on the nucleation and growth aspects of this texture component is then discussed