The recrystallization of a highly deformed Al-Fe-Mn alloy

The deformation and annealing behaviour of an Al-Fe-Mn alloy cold rolled to a strain of 3.9 has been investigated using high resolution EBSD. After strains of up to 2.6 (93% reduction) the material undergoes discontinuous recrystallization on subsequent annealing. However, as the strain increases to 3.9 (98% reduction), the recrystallization becomes continuous, producing a sub-micron grained microstructure which remains stable during low temperature annealing. It is shown that the inhomogeneous deformation associated with the large second-phase particles in the Al-Fe-Mn alloy, is an important factor in producing stable fine-grain microstructures during large-strain deformation.