Development of Recrystallization Texture in Severely Cold-rolled Pure Iron

The mechanism of recrystallization texture development is changed by the chemical composition of materials, cold-rolling reduction, and annealing conditions. This study discusses the development of recrystallization texture for severely cold-rolled pure iron. In cold-rolled iron with 99.8% reduction, the deformation texture was a strong alpha-fiber (RD//< 011 >) with high strain. During annealing in a temperature range from 20 degrees C to 800 degrees C, in this highly strained alpha-fiber, the microstructure started to recover from a low temperature. Thereafter, recrystallized grains began to appear at 350 degrees C, and many recrystallized grains were generated at random locations. Their textural components were {100}, {211}, {111}, and {411}, which were already included in the a-fiber. At 550 degrees C, recrystallization was completed, and the resulting recrystallization texture was similar to the original cold-rolling texture. This texture was developed by unique microstructural changes, which could be classified as continuous recrystallization. During grain growth stage, the recrystallization texture changed into the {100} < 012 > component presumably by the selective growth of recrystallized grains governed by the size effect.