Quantifying the recrystallization texture of tantalum

The utilization of crystallographic texture is gaining acceptance as a commercially viable tool for characterizing the attributes and confirming the quality of engineering materials. Traditionally, x-ray diffraction (XRD) involving the measurement and subsequent analysis of normal-orientation pole figures is used to determine the preferred orientation in sheet metals. Unfortunately, most XRD techniques are incapable of providing quantifying texture information of wrought tantalum. This is because integrative texture measurement methods cannot detect the presence of texture gradients and bands known to be detrimental to the performance of tantalum for select applications. Instead, discrete orientation measurement techniques such as electron backscatter diffraction are required to resolve the microtexture of tantalum. Inverse pole figure maps generated using orientation imaging microscopy have been used to gain qualitative insight into the texture character of wrought tantalum. Recently, a numerical means for quantifying the texture uniformity, of tantalum (as well as other materials) from discrete orientation data has been devised and demonstrated.