Development of through-thickness texture gradient during continuous cast processing of AA 5052 aluminum alloy

The texture evolution and the development of through-thickness texture gradient during continuous cast processing of AA 5052 aluminum alloy were investigated by X-ray diffraction. The continuous cast slab and the samples in each pass during hot rolling were obtained from the industrial continuous cast processing. A detailed quantitative analysis of the volume fractions of different texture components in several layers of the hot rolled samples was performed. The results show that a pronounced through-thickness texture gradient is observed near the surface after the first pass. This is attributed to the effect of friction between the roll and the sheet contact surface. During the second and third rolling passes the friction between the roll and the sheet contact surface does not affect the texture evolution at the subsurface layer due to the low friction coefficient. The roll-gap geometry does not produce any shear deformation at the intermediate layer. A more uniform through-thickness texture is obtained after the third pass.