QUANTIFICATION OF PARTIALLY RECRYSTALLIZED POLYCRYSTALS USING ELECTRON BACKSCATTER DIFFRACTION

A new experimental method of determining the volume fraction of recrys tallized structure in a polycrystalline material has been developed. T his method is based upon the comparison of electron backscatter diffra ction patterns from adjacent locations in a polycrystal. Positions alo ng a line are tested to determine whether adjacent points have the sam e crystal lattice orientation indicating that no dislocation structure exists between the two locations. If the distance between the two pos itions is relatively small, it is assured that the two points lie with in a region of essentially defect-free lattice. Scanning through a reg ion of material in this manner yields the lineal fraction of recrystal lized material which directly correlates with the volume fraction. Thi s automatic measurement eliminates the subjectivity and human error al ways associated with the quantitative determination of fraction recrys tallized in a material.