Mesoscale modeling of cube texture evolution during hot working of aluminum

Cube bands that survive the hot deformation process are known to serve as nuclei for subsequent cube texture evolution in aluminum during static recrystallization. The grain boundary area between cube and other deformation texture components is reported to be an important microstructural feature that influences the growth of the cube nuclei. This paper presents simulations of cube texture evolution at the mesoscopic length-scale with emphasis on the influence of local microstructural environment on the growth of cube islands after hot deformation. The deformation substructure after hot deformation derived from crystal plasticity based modeling of microstructural deformation is used as input to a Monte Carlo simulation of substructure evolution. The effect of neighboring orientations such as Copper and S on the growth of cube bands is investigated as a function of plastic strain and initial grain size. The simulation results are compared with the predictions of existing analytical models of cube texture evolution in polycrystalline aluminum.