Texture evolution rate in continuous cast AA5052 aluminum alloy during single pass hot rolling

Continuous cast AA5052 Al alloy slab was hot rolled by a single pass with entrance and exit temperatures of 482 °C and 400 °C, respectively. The thickness of the slab was reduced from 21.5 mm to 8.6 mm. The evolution of texture and microstructure during the rolling was investigated by X-ray diffraction, SEM and optical microscopy. It was found that the grain structure changed from equiaxed to elongated in shape in the alloy at a rolling reduction over 38%. With increase in rolling reduction, the β-fiber texture was increased rapidly in the expense of the remainder component, while the rest of the texture components were only changed slightly during the hot rolling. The evolution of different texture components during the hot rolling process was quantified using modified Johnson–Mehl–Avrami–Kolmogorov-type equations. The corresponding evolution rates were also computed from these equations. Among the three main components (copper, brass and S) in β-fiber, the copper component was the strongest, having the fastest evolution rate, and S the weakest, during hot rolling.