Influence of groove pressing process on the drawability (R value) of aluminium alloy AA 5052 sheets

Aluminium alloy sheets have poor drawability compared to steel sheets as indicated by the values of the plastic strain ratio or the R value. Because of the textures developed during commercial annealing and cold rolling processes, the R value for aluminium alloys is typically less than 1. Since the R value is heavily influenced by the crystallographic texture in the sheet, processes that develop a favourable texture can be utilised to improve the R value. In this study, a severe plastic deformation process called groove pressing has been used to repeatedly deform sheet specimens of aluminium alloy AA 5052. The R values of groove pressed specimens were experimentally determined. X-ray diffraction scans of the groove pressed specimens were carried out to measure the relative intensities of (111) and (002) peaks in the pattern. The largest increase in the R value was for specimens cut at 90° to the rolling direction and groove pressed to four passes. XRD data indicate that the groove pressing process is capable of introducing a favourable shear texture. © (2013) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.