The effects of Ca and Mn on the microstructure,texture and mechanical properties of Mg-4 Zn alloy

The microstructural evolution,texture and mechanical properties of nine Mg-4Zn-xCa-yMn alloys(x=0.3,0.6,1.0;y=0.2,0.3,0.7 wt.%)were investigated systematically.Alloying with Ca and Mn refined the grains of the extruded sheets and increased the unDRX fraction.Mn could be the heterogeneous nucleation site of Ca2Mg6Zn3 phase because of a good atom matching at the orientation relationship of(211)_(Mn)//(1211)_(Ca2Mg6Zn3),(251)_(Mn)//〈1103〉_(Ca2Mg6Zn3).The traditional texture weakening effect of Ca was strongly decreased for the simultaneously addition of Mn.With increasing Ca and Mn concentration,the strength increased and ductility decreased.Mg-4Zn-0.6Ca-0.7Mn exhibited a good combination of ultimate tensile strength(320 MPa),yield strength(286 MPa)and elongation(16%).A model of strengthening indicated that grain boundary strengthening and precipitate strengthening made a large contribution to the strength of Mg-4Zn-0.6Ca-0.7Mn.In addition,the dynamic recrystallization,texture modification and the strengthening effect from different parts also have been analyzed in detail.