7. Preferential orientation study

Crystalline materials, and metals in particular, are such that at least one of their characteristics (mechanical properties, thermal expansion, electrical conductivity, optical properties, etc.) is closely linked to their crystallographic orientation. When they are polycrystalline, materials are such that the different crystals are never oriented in absolutely any way: some of their axes are in fact grouped more or less closely around preferred crystallographic directions. Precise knowledge of these preferred orientations (textures) is extremely important, particularly for industrial applications. Certain parasitic alterations can develop during the manufacturing process, such as the crumpling of ferritic stainless steels. On the other hand, in certain cases, it may be necessary to deliberately encourage the creation of marked textures: oriented laminations for transformers, for example,...