Crystal Orientation Mapping (COM) is a new state-of-the-art technique for m
aking spatially specific orientation measurements based on the automatic an
alysis of electron backscatter diffraction patterns. The main aim of the wo
rk reported is to demonstrate the quantitative application of COM for chara
cterising local orientation perturbations in the vicinity of triple junctio
ns in an Al-3wt%Mg alloy deformed 5% in tension. First, the hardware config
uration of the EBSD system is described and the optimum microscope operatin
g conditions for setting up a COM are determined by measuring the spatial r
esolution of EBSD patterns in pure Al and Ni specimens. For this particular
investigation, an accelerating voltage of 20 kV was found to be optimum fo
r mapping, resulting in spatial resolutions of 0.51 mu m and 0.42 mu m for
Al and Ni respectively. Secondly, to provide a visual representation of loc
al orientation perturbations in the vicinity of a triple junction, a COM an
d pattern quality map are presented. The "raw" orientation data, extracted
from the COM was quantified using several different post-processing methods
. The methodology associated with each is discussed and comparisons of the
pattern of orientation perturbations are made using the same "raw" data set
.