Deformation banding mechanisms during plane strain compression of cube-oriented f.c.c. crystals

Plane strain (channel-die) compression tests have been carried out on cube-oriented single crystals of Cu, Al and Ni up to strains of 1.5. A systematic analysis of the slip traces and local orientations by SEM-EBSD microtexture measurements shows that coarse deformation banding starts by rotations about the transverse direction (TD), in contradiction with the widely quoted Dillamore and Katoh model. Further rotations then continue about TD but also develop about the rolling direction (RD) accentuated, in Cu and Ni, by micro-shear banding within the deformation bands. A detailed crystal plasticity analysis is developed for deformation banding in cube and near-cube oriented grains undergoing plane strain compression. This model predicts the observed TD and additional RD rotations together with the strain paths of the bands and their splitting plane.