Texture evolution by shear on two planes during ECAP of a high-strength aluminum alloy

The evolution of texture was examined during equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) of an Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy having a strong initial texture. An analysis of the local texture using electron backscatter diffraction demonstrates that shear occurs on two shear planes: the main shear plane (MSP) equivalent to the simple shear plane, and a secondary shear plane which is perpendicular to the MSP. Throughout most regions of the ECAP billet, the MSP is close to the intersection plane of the two channels but with a small (5°) deviation. Only the {1 1 1}〈1 1 0〉 and {0 0 1}〈1 1 0〉 shear systems were activated and there was no experimental evidence for the existence of other shear systems. In a small region at the bottom edge of the billet that passed through the zone of intersection of the channels, the observed textures were fully consistent with the rolling textures of Copper and Goss.