Tribological performance enhancement of Al6061 alloy through accumulative roll bonding-induced microstructure and texture evolution

This study investigates the effects of four-cycle ARB processing on the microstructure, crystallographic texture, phase evolution, and dry-sliding tribological behavior of Al6061-T6 alloy using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), X-ray diffraction (XRD), dry-sliding wear experiments, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). EBSD analysis revealed significant grain refinement from 90 ± 46.5 μm to 9.5 ± 4.2 μm, accompanied by an increased grain boundary density and continuous dynamic recrystallization. Strengthened FCC rolling texture components, including Copper, Brass, S, and Dillamore orientations, were developed after ARB processing. XRD confirmed the retention of the FCC α-Al matrix, along with stable Mg 2 Si, AlFeSi, and Al 2 MgSi phases, while broadened diffraction peaks indicated deformation-induced lattice distortion and grain refinement without phase transformation. The coefficient of friction decreased from 0.765 ± 0.06 to 0.542 ± 0.04 under 20 N and from 0.829 ± 0.08 to 0.712 ± 0.05 under 40 N following ARB processing. SEM observations revealed a transition from severe abrasive–adhesive wear with extensive delamination in the base alloy to comparatively smooth wear tracks with shallow grooves and minor delamination after ARB. The enhanced tribological performance is attributed to the synergistic effects of ultrafine grain refinement, increased grain boundary density, deformation-induced lattice distortion, and crystallographic texture evolution, demonstrating that four-cycle ARB processing significantly improves the surface durability of Al6061-T6 alloy under dry sliding conditions.