The Effect of Smoothing on ODF Reproduction

Although the smoothing of experimental pole-density data modifies the primary data set, the effectof such a procedure on the Orientation Distribution Function and on the interpretation of the texturewas not considered until recently. The influence of smoothing on texture reproduction will be derivedfor the case, that the Orientation Distribution Function is approximated by a linear combination ofnormal distributions (ideal orientation components) and smoothing is carried out with normaldistributions, too. The characteristic component parameters are well-suited to indicate changes of theOrientation Distribution Function. The observed texture variations as a consequence of smoothing leadto the conclusion, that moderate smoothing does not falsifythe texture. Several possibilities to controlthe effect of smoothing will be discussed. Based on the visual comparison of smoothed and unsmoothedpole-figures it is argued, that even extreme smoothing may be useful for some purposes.