Enhanced mechanical properties of hot-rolled beryllium foils

Structure, texture, and mechanical properties of 150 mu m thick beryllium foils obtained by multipass hot cross rolling at 870 degrees C in a metal container have been studied in this work. Depending on the strain ratio in the rolling and in the transverse direction, the initial fiber texture < 10-10 > transformed into a split basal {0001} < 10-10 > or into a fiber < 0001 > texture, which affected significantly the mechanical properties of beryllium foils. The rolled foils with a split basal texture exhibited a strong anisotropy of their mechanical properties, low strength and ductility in the transverse direction. The foils with a fiber texture demonstrated enhanced isotropic mechanical properties caused by activation of a prismatic slip in beryllium.