Statistical characteristics of grain boundary ensembles in variously textured copper

Microtextures, misorientation distributions and orientation correlations we re investigated in weakly and strongly textured states obtained during recr ystallization and grain growth of pure copper. A predominance of Sigma 3(n) (n greater than or equal to 1) boundaries was found in the condition with w eak texture, while mainly low-angle and Sigma 3 boundaries were observed in the strongly textured state. The influence of texture on the microstructur e and misorientation distribution is discussed. The misorientation distribu tion of nearest neighbours in face centred cubic materials prone to anneali ng twinning is influenced by the "matrix-twin" orientation correlation. Suc h a correlation is prominent in copper with a weak texture. The influence o f this orientation correlation is significantly reduced in the presence of a strong texture. In strongly textured copper, Sigma 3 boundaries can be di vided into two groups: true twin boundaries, i.e. boundaries between a twin and its matrix, and boundaries between a twin and its non-matrix neighbour with an orientation close to the matrix grain. These two groups are charac terized by different morphologies of Sigma 3 boundaries and different devia tions from the exact twin relationship. (C) 1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers .