Analysis of Surface Orange Peel of Automotive Aluminum Alloy Pipe Using Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD)

Abstract

The occurrence of orange peel in 6xxx alloy tube for automotive application was studied by super depth metallographic microscope and EBSD. The results revealed obvious ups and downs morphology at the surface after tube hydroforming. Compared with the undeformed case, more grains existed in the concave areas rather than individual out-of-plane displacement. The influence of surface orange peel on grain boundary morphology, crystal orientation, and texture are discussed. It is concluded, that surface orange peel is controlled by the spatial distribution of grain orientations and grain size through the thickness of the sample.