Texture evolution of monolithic-phase and dual-phase steel sheets during a deep-drawing process

Interstitial-free high-strength steel (IF-HSS) sheets consisting of a monolithic α-ferrite phase and dual-phase (DP) steel sheets consisting of α-ferrite and hard martensite phases were used to investigate the evolution of texture during a deep-drawing process. Electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) was used for microtexture analysis at different heights from the bottom of a deep-drawn cup. EBSD analysis revealed that a stable orientation depends on the measurement heights and direction with respect to sample symmetry. The volume fraction of a stable orientation was lower in a DP steel sheet than in an IF-HSS sheet. Rotation rate maps and the orientation stability were used to calculate the kinematic stability of the initial texture components during the deep-drawing process. The stability parameters and the kernel average misorientation (KAM) distribution explain why the volume fraction of the stable orientation is lower in the DP steel sheet than in the IF-HSS steel sheet.