Dislocation Density by X-ray Diffraction in α Brass Deformed by Rolling and ECAE

Dislocations are responsible for most aspects of plastic deformation in metals. In this work, the dislocation density, ρ, in brass was estimated after different deformation processes via line broadening of X-ray diffractograms using the Convolutional Multiple Whole Profile Program (CMWP) and by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). In addition, we attempted to evaluate, on a global basis, the influence of crystallographic texture in ρ analysis, making sure that the results obtained by XRD could be trusted even in samples with moderate levels of texture. For this, we compared the ρ values for α brass samples (66% Cu and 34% Zn) with different levels of texture, one deformed by cold rolling and the other by equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE).The results suggest that using CMWP program it was possible to satisfactorily estimate the dislocation density in α brass. It also the was shown that the results by XRD and by TEM were self-consistent in two samples texturized to different degrees.

Keywords:
dislocation density; TEM; XRD; α brass; rolling; ECAE