Randomization of the annealing texture in aluminum 5182 sheet by cross-rolling

In order to obtain a randomization of the annealing texture in aluminum AA5182 sheet, the cold-rolling texture is modified through introduction of an additional step of cross-rolling during the deformation. The β-fiber orientations that form during the preceding normal cold-rolling are unstable under cross-rolling conditions. Rather, preferred orientations with 011//ND (α-fiber) develop. A proper control of the respective reduction degrees before and after the cross-rolling leads to the formation of strong orientation densities along the α-fiber. After recrystallization annealing, the cross-rolled samples depict a very weak, almost random texture. This texture randomization is explained by a suppression of both the nucleation and the subsequent growth of the 001 <100> cube orientation which prevails in normally rolled and recrystallized Al sheets. Because of the resulting homogeneous planar anisotropy (R ≈ 1) of the randomly textured sheets, a better sheet formability was obtained than in conventional sheets with a pronounced cube texture.