Effect of Cryogenic Treatment on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Extruded Mg-3.5Zn-0.6Gd Alloy

The effect of cryogenic treatment (CT) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the as-extruded Mg–3.5Zn–0.6Gd alloy was investigated. The results showed that W-phase newly appeared in cryogenic treatment samples but without notable second phase amount increasing. There was also no remarkable grain refinement. But the amount of twins reduced greatly, the strong basal texture {0001} rotated and increased. The intensity of plane (0002) diffraction peak was weakened along with planes ( 1 0-1 0 ) ( 1 0-1 1 ) being enhanced in X-ray diffraction pattern. The change in mechanical properties was not obvious. The mechanism of the microstructure evolution is discussed as well.

Rate sensitivity and tension–compression asymmetry in AZ31B magnesium alloy sheet

The constitutive response of a commercial magnesium alloy rolled sheet (AZ31B-O) is studied based on room temperature tensile and compressive tests at strain rates ranging from 10 −3 to 10 3 s −1 . Because of its strong basal texture, this alloy exhibits a significant tension–compression asymmetry (strength differential) that is manifest further in terms of rather different strain rate sensitivity under tensile versus compressive loading. Under tensile loading, this alloy exhibits conventional positive strain rate sensitivity. Under compressive loading, the flow stress is initially rate insensitive until twinning is exhausted after which slip processes are activated, and conventional rate sensitivity is recovered. The material exhibits rather mild in-plane anisotropy in terms of strength, but strong transverse anisotropy ( r -value), and a high degree of variation in the measured r -values along the different sheet orientations which is indicative of a higher degree of anisotropy than that observed based solely upon the variation in stresses. This rather complex behaviour is attributed to the strong basal texture, and the different deformation mechanisms being activated as the orientation and sign of applied loading are varied. A new constitutive equation is proposed to model the measured compressive behaviour that captures the rate sensitivity of the sigmoidal stress–strain response. The measured tensile stress–strain response is fit to the Zerilli–Armstrong hcp material model.

Reducing Mechanical Asymmetry in Wrought Magnesium Alloys

Many wrought magnesium alloys exhibit a characteristic asymmetry in mechanical properties when tested in compression and tension. In this paper, the fundamental origins of the asymmetry effect in wrought magnesium alloys are discussed and strategies to reduce asymmetry are presented. It is shown that both weakening the typical strong basal texture and introducing basal plate precipitates are predicted to reduce, but not eliminate, asymmetry in agreement with experiment. The implication of these results on the design of wrought magnesium alloys is discussed.

Enhancing Strength and Maintaining Ductility of Mg-3%Li-1%Sc Alloy by Equal Channel Angular Pressing

Equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) has been conducted on as-cast Mg-3%Li-1%Sc alloy for four-passes to study the microstructure uniformity and tensile properties. After ECAP, the microstructure become muddled, contains about 65% of deformed coarse grains with abundant low angle grain boundaries and about 35% of recrystallized small grains. Meanwhile, a strong basal texture is formed in the ECAP sample. The texture type of the recrystallized grains and the deformed grains are the same, however, the texture strength of the recrystallized grains is much lower than the deformed ones. Tensile strength is improved effectively and the elongation is maintained after ECAP. The increment of strength results from the microstructure refinement and residual dislocations produced by ECAP, while the recovery of ductility may be attributed to a shear type texture formed in the alloy during ECAP.