Reconstruction of grains and subgrains from electron backscatter diffraction maps.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Crystallography
• Metallurgy

Background:

• Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) provides valuable microstructural data on grains and boundaries.
• Current EBSD analysis can be limited in its ability to fully characterize complex microstructures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore methods for reconstructing complete grains and subgrains from EBSD data.
• To demonstrate how grain reconstruction enhances quantitative microstructural analysis.
• To highlight the utility of reconstructed data for understanding boundary properties and triple junctions.

Main Methods:

• Pixel re-analysis of EBSD maps to reconstruct individual grains and subgrains.
• Correlation of dimensional, positional, orientational, and misorientational parameters.
• Automated analysis routines for triple junction and boundary network characterization.

Main Results:

• Grain reconstruction significantly increases the quantity and quality of microstructural data.
• Detailed information on grain dimensions, positions, orientations, and misorientations is obtained.
• Nature, location, and contacts of all triple junctions are revealed.
• Boundary connectivity, path lengths, and directions for potential failure events are determined.
• Alignment of boundaries relative to crystallography and deformation geometry is quantified.

Conclusions:

• Grain reconstruction from EBSD data is a powerful technique for advanced microstructural analysis.
• This approach provides unique insights into grain boundary behavior and material failure mechanisms.
• Automated analysis of reconstructed microstructures enables deeper understanding of material properties.