Tailoring strength-ductility balance of caliber-rolled AZ31 Mg alloy through subsequent annealing

Recently,multi-pass caliber rolling has been shown to be effective for Mg alloys.This study investigated the effect of subsequent annealing on the mechanical properties of a caliber-rolled AZ31 Mg alloy to modulate the strength-ductility relationship.This annealing gave rise to different trends in mechanical properties depending on the temperature regime.Low-temperature annealing(T≤473 K)exhibited a typical trade-off relationship,where an increase in annealing temperature resulted in increased ductility but decreased strength and hardness.Such a heat treatment did not degrade the high strength-ductility balance of the caliber-rolled alloy,suggesting that the mechanical properties could be tailored for different potential applications.In contrast,high-temperature annealing(T>473 K)caused a simultaneous deterioration in strength,hardness,and ductility with increasing annealing temperature.These differences are discussed in terms of the varying microstructural features under the different investigated annealing regimes.

Improved tensile properties of AZ31 Mg alloy subjected to various caliber-rolling strains

A multi-pass caliber rolling has attracted attentions as an alternative to severe plastic deformation processes.The present study enhanced strength and ductility of AZ31 Mg alloy simultaneously through the application of caliber rolling.The improving trends in tensile properties were interpreted with various caliber-rolling strains.The oval/circular-shaped calibers imposed a high plastic strain at the center of crosssection,leading to effective grain refinement to submicron scale.This work also confirmed the texture randomizing effect of caliber rolling.Such microstructural evolutions gave rise to the fabrication of high-strength material.Moreover,the caliber-rolled AZ31 Mg alloys exhibited an improvement in ductility as compared to the as-received sheet-rolled material.This was discussed in terms of activation of non-basal slip systems and suppression of mechanical twinning.This study successfully proved the possibility of caliber rolling to produce a bulk Mg rod with enhanced tensile properties.

Texture tailoring and bendability improvement of rolled AZ31 alloy using {10-12} twinning: The effect of precompression levels

In this study,the texture of a rolled Mg alloy is effectively modified through the application of precompression and subsequent annealing treatment,leading to a remarkable improvement in the bending formability of the alloy at room temperature.Precompression induces lattice reorientation through{10-12}twinning,and annealing treatment reduces the stored strain energy of the precompressed material,which results in the formation of a stable grain structure with two dominant texture components.With an increase in precompression,the tensile strain in the outer region of the bending samples is accommodated to a greater extent due to more pronounced{10-12}twinning and basal slip.As a result,the bending formability of the material at room temperature improves with greater precompression.The variation in microstructure,texture,and bending behavior in relation to the degree of precompression is discussed in detail.

Improvement in tensile strength of extruded Mg-5Bi alloy through addition of Sn and its underlying strengthening mechanisms

Through an investigation of the microstructure and mechanical properties of extruded Mg–5Bi–x Sn(BT5x, x = 0, 2, 4, and 6 wt%) alloys,this study demonstrates that the addition of Sn to an Mg–5Bi binary alloy significantly improves the tensile strength of the extruded alloy.All the extruded alloys exhibit a typical basal fiber texture and a partially dynamically recrystallized(DRXed) microstructure consisting of fine DRXed grains and coarse un DRXed grains. As the Sn content increases from 0 wt% to 6 wt%, the average size of the DRXed grains decreases from 4.2 to 2.8 μm owing to the increase in the amount of precipitates via their grain-boundary pinning effect. The extruded B5 and BT52 alloys contain numerous Mg_(3)Bi_(2) precipitates, but their size and number density are smaller and higher, respectively, in the latter alloy.Numerous Mg_(2)Sn precipitates as well as Mg_(3)Bi_(2)precipitates are present in the extruded BT54 and BT56 alloys, and the number density of the Mg_(2)Sn precipitates is higher in the latter alloy because of its higher Sn content. The addition of 2 wt% Sn to the B5 alloy significantly improves the yield strength(YS) and ultimate tensile strength(UTS) of the extruded alloy—by 76 and 57 MPa, respectively. This drastic improvement is the combined outcome of enhanced grain-boundary hardening, precipitation hardening, and solid-solution hardening effects induced by the refined DRXed grains, numerous precipitates, and Sn solute atoms, respectively. The further addition of 2 wt% or 4 wt% Sn to the BT52 alloy leads to moderate increments in the YS and UTS of the extruded alloy. Specifically, each addition of 2 wt% Sn increases the YS and UTS by ~26 and ~20 MPa, respectively, which is attributed mainly to the additional precipitation hardening effect induced by the Mg_(2)Sn precipitates.

Dynamic recrystallization behavior and microstructural evolution of Mg alloy AZ31 through high-speed rolling

High-speed rolling （HSR） is known to improve the workability of Mg alloys significantly, which makes it possible to impose a large reduction in a single pass without fracture. In the present study, dynamic recrystallization （DRX） behavior and microstructural and textural variations of Mg alloy AZ31 dur-ing a HSR process were investigated by conducting rolling with different imposed reductions in the range of 20%-80% at a high rolling speed of 470 m/min and 400℃. High-strain-rate deformation during HSR suppresses dislocation slips but promotes twinning, which results in the formation of numer-ous twins of several types, i.e., {10-12} extension twins, {10-11} and {10-13} contraction twins, and {10-11}-{10-12} double twins. After twinning, high strain energy is accumulated in twin bands because their crystallographic orientations are favorable for basal slips, leading to subsequent DRX at the twin bands. Accordingly, twinning activation and twinning-induced DRX behavior play crucial roles in accommodating plastic deformation during HSR and in varying microstructure and texture of the high- speed-rolled （HSRed） sheets. Area fraction of fine DRXed grains formed at the twin bands increases with increasing rolling reduction, which is attributed to the combined effects of increased strain, strain rate, and deformation temperature and a decreased critical strain for DRX. Size, internal strain, and texture intensity of the DRXed grains are smaller than those of unDRXed grains. Therefore, as rolling reduction increases, average grain size, stored internal energy, microstructural inhomogeneity, and basal texture intensity of the HSRed sheets gradually decrease owing to an increase in the area fraction of the DRXed grains.

Dynamic deformation behavior and microstructural evolution during high-speed rolling of Mg alloy having non-basal texture

The dynamic deformation behaviors and resultant microstructural variations during high-speed rolling(HSR) of a Mg alloy with a non-basal texture are investigated. To this end, AZ31 alloy samples in which the basal poles of most grains are predominantly aligned parallel to the transverse direction(TD) are subjected to hot rolling with different reductions at a rolling speed of 470 m/min. The initial grains with a TD texture are favorable for {10–12} twinning under compression along the normal direction(ND); as a result, {10–12} twins are extensively formed in the material during HSR, and this consequently results in a drastic evolution of texture from the TD texture to the ND texture and a reduction in the grain size. After the initial grains are completely twinned by the {10–12} twinning mechanism, {10–11} contraction twins and {10–11}-{10–12} double twins are formed in the {10–12} twinned grains by further deformation.Since the contraction twins and double twins have crystallographic orientations that are favorable for basal slip during HSR, dislocations easily accumulate in these twins and fine recrystallized grains nucleate in the twins to reduce the increased internal strain energy. Until a rolling reduction of 20%, {10–12}twinning is the main mechanism governing the microstructural change during HSR, and subsequently,the microstructural evolution is dominated by the formation of contraction twins and double twins and the dynamic recrystallization in these twins. With an increase in the rolling reduction, the average grain size and internal strain energy of the high-speed-rolled(HSRed) samples decrease and the basal texture evolves from the TD texture to the ND texture more effectively. As a result, the 80% HSRed sample, which is subjected to a large strain at a high strain rate in a single rolling pass, exhibits a fully recrystallized microstructure consisting of equiaxed fine grains and has an ND basal texture without a TD texture component.