Texture evolution and mechanical properties of Al–Mg–Si alloys at different intermediate annealing temperatures

Intermediate annealing treatment produces different effects on the state of particles in Al–Mg–Si alloy sheets, thereby affecting their recrystallization textures and formability. To improve the formability of the sheets, the effects of different intermediate annealing temperatures on the texture evolution and mechanical properties of these sheets for automotive applications were studied using optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and tensile tests. The results reveal that intermediate annealing temperature has a significant influence on the recrystallization textures and average plastic strain ratio (r). After solution treatment, all the alloy sheets possess similar recrystallization texture components comprising of cube_ND {100}<310> and P {011}<122> orientations, whereas a characteristic strong cube-oriented {100}<001> texture is observed only in the alloy annealed at a temperature of 380 °C. However, in comparison with the alloy not annealed, and the alloy annealed at 550 °C, the alloy annealed at 380 °C possesses a lower average r value. Furthermore, the relationship between textures and r value was analyzed by using the Taylor full constraints model in this study.