Microstructural, textural and hardness evolution of commercially pure Zr surface-treated by high current pulsed electron beam

High current pulsed electron beam (HCPEB) treatments were performed for a commercially pure Zr sheet, with remarkable surface modifications demonstrated. After the HCPEB treatments, the prior equiaxed grains with a bimodal basal texture are replaced by ultra fine plates with dense nanotwins and an unusual fiber texture of < 11<(2)over bar>0 > normal to the sheet surface. Increased number of pulses leads to further refined microstructures and intensified textures, jointly resulting in continuous increase of hardness. Reasons for such modifications could mainly be attributed to ultra fast heating/cooling and strong variant selection due to presence of complex thermal and stress fields. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.