Texture evolution associated with the preferential recrystallization during annealing process in a hot-rolled near β titanium alloy

Texture evolution associated with the recrystallization behavior during solution treatment was investigated in a hot-rolled Ti-7333 by virtue of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD). The results show that the microstructure of the rolled specimens consists of a large number of elongated β grains and a small amount of equiaxed β grains. The dominant texture components are confirmed to be {111}<110> and {100}<001>. With the progressing of the solution treatment, the recrystallization occurs and the orientations of {111}<110> and {001}<100> hold the preferred orientations to act as the nuclei for the recrystallized grains. It is found that the recrystallized grains are mainly located on the bulged boundaries or within the deformed grains, and the mechanism of the strain-induced boundary migration (SIBM) mainly accounts for the formation of the recrystallized grains nucleated on the bulged boundaries, which eventually leads to the texture of the solution-treated specimens inheriting the previous orientation of <110> parallel to the rolling direction. The results of the present work provide a valuable reference for understanding the relationship between the texture evolution and the recrystallization behavior during the annealing process in near β titanium alloys.