A grain boundary engineering approach to promote special boundaries in a Pb-base alloy

A grain boundary engineering approach was employed to improve the microstructure of a commercial Pb-base alloy for better performance in automobile battery application. Through a combination of cold working, recrystallization and subsequent thermomechanical-processing, it was possible to increase the fraction of the low Sigma coincidence site lattice boundaries up to 91 % in addition to the substantial grain refinement. A preliminary electrochemical evaluation indicated a better corrosion resistance in the experimental material laden with the special boundaries. The high frequency of the coincidence site lattice boundaries in the specimens was interpreted in terms of the Sigma3 regeneration' model proposed in previous works.