Abstract
Crystallographic texture, which plays an important role in many forming operations, is developed during sheet metal processing. Improved product quality could be achieved if the texture could be measured, quickly and inexpensively, during different stages of the processing. One potential scheme, involving
measurement of the angular dependence of the speed of ultrasonic waves propagating in the plane of the sheet is described, as applied to aluminum. While this technique has been successfully used in steel sheets, application to aluminum is more difficult because of the smaller elastic anisotropy of the crystallites. This paper presents the results of a detailed study of the strengths and weaknesses of the approach. Included are discussions of signal processing factors, the accuracy of the ultrasonically determined