Fiber texture evolution of hot-rolled aluminum matrix composite reinforced by aluminum borate whisker

The microstructures and texture evolutions of aluminum borate whisker-reinforced 6061 aluminum alloy composite rolled at different temperatures have been studied. The results show that some novel plate and fiber textures, quite different from the typical rolling and recrystallization textures in hot-rolled monolithic face-centered cubic metals, have been found in the aluminum matrix of the hot-rolled composite. Different from the plate texture at lower rolling reduction, the fiber texture becomes the dominant texture at the rolling reduction of 70%. The orientation densities of the fiber textures vary with the rolling temperature. Both the formation and evolution mechanisms of the novel textures are discussed on the basis of microstructure analysis.