Texture, hardening and mechanical anisotropy in A.A. 8090-T851 plate

An evaluation is made of the effect of preferred crystallographic orientations on the dislocations locking mechanisms underlying the macroscopic yield strength of a 8090-T851 Al-Li alloy plate. The interplay between dislocations-related strengthening mechanisms and textures is made via the Taylor factor for the critical resolved shear stress for slip. By this way, each microstructural contribution to the strengthening (precipitates, solid solution, grain boundaries), independently determined from textures, is projected into a specific direction, with reference to the rolling direction, by multiplying it for the Taylor factor. This one is computed by means of the popLa software package, analysing experimental texture data obtained by X-ray diffraction. The prediction of the strength anisotropy in the 8090-T851 textured alloys is then carried out. Finally, the normal plastic anisotropy of the alloy is investigated experimentally and by means of polycrystal plasticity calculations, pointing out its dependence on the crystallographic textures.