Through-thickness texture gradient in continuous cast AA 5052 aluminum alloy sheet

The development of through-thickness texture gradient during continuous cast (CC) processing of AA 5052 aluminum alloy was investigated by X-ray diffraction. The CC slab and the hot bands after each of three rolling passes were obtained from an industrial CC processing operation. The results show that a through-thickness texture gradient exists near the surface after the first pass. The subsurface layer exhibits a very weak texture, while the center layer shows the β fiber rolling texture. After the third pass, a strong β fiber rolling texture is obtained at different through-thickness layers. The roll-gap geometry does not produce any shear deformation at the intermediate layer. After recrystallization annealing, the through-thickness texture gradient still exists in the AA 5052 aluminum alloy sheets. As the measured position moves towards the center from the surface, the cube recrystallization texture strengthens.