This investigation studied the effect of reduction sequence during rolling of ferritic stainless steel on texture and anisotropy. A series of thermomechanical processes were performed on the present samples utilizing rolling deformation, with a total height reduction of 83% but with different reduction sequences, 67% + 50% (route A) and 50% + 67% (route B). Microstructural analysis showed that no significant difference was found in terms of the grain morphology between route A and route B. In terms of the texture, as compared to route A, route B developed a sharper texture on all components along the γ-fiber and a considerably higher fraction of boundaries that displayed 38°111 misorientations with respect to the surrounding deformed grains. In consequence, optimal deep drawing properties were achieved, where rm was maximized and Δr was minimized. Moreover, despite the similar morphology between the two processes, the resistance toward ridging was improved in the case of route B. This was explained in relation to the selective growth-controlled recrystallization, which favors the formation of microstructure with homogeneous distribution of the <111>//ND orientation.
Keywords: anisotropy; reduction sequence; rolling; stainless steel; texture.