Microstructural evolution and grain growth mechanism of pre-twinned magnesium alloy during annealing

The microstructural evolution and underlying grain growth mechanism of a{1012}-twin-containing Mg alloy during annealing are investigated through quasi in situ electron backscatter diffraction measurements of a rolled AZ31 alloy subjected to precompression along the rolling direction(RD).The precompressed material shows a partially twinned structure consisting of a twinned region and a residual matrix region,and this structure changes to an almost twin-free structure consisting of grown grains with serrated grain boundaries in twinand matrix-originated regions after annealing at 250℃ for 1 h.In addition,the average grain size almost doubles and the internal strain energy decreases significantly after annealing.These microstructural variations are induced mainly by grain growth through the strain-induced migration of high-angle grain boundaries without the movement of twin boundaries.The twinned region of the precompressed material has higher stored strain energy than the residual matrix region because the crystallographic orientation of the former region is favorable for basal slip and because of the occurrence of the dislocation transmutation reaction in the twins.For reducing the total strain energy accumulated in the precompressed material,the residual matrix region—having lower stored strain energy—preferentially grows while consuming the twinned regions formed in the surrounding grains during annealing.As a result,the area fraction of grains with a matrix texture increases whereas that of grains with a twin texture decreases after annealing.The twin texture intensity increases significantly and this texture becomes more concentrated along the RD because the highly RD oriented twins tend to grow during annealing on account of their fairly low stored strain energy.

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.

Variations in microstructure and bending formability of extruded Mg–Al–Zn–Ca–Y–MM alloy with precompression and subsequent annealing treatment conditions

In this study, the bending formability of an extruded Mg–9Al–1Zn–0.3Mn–0.9Ca–0.6Y–0.5 MM(AZXWMM91100, wt%) alloy at room temperature is significantly improved through application of a combined precompression and subsequent annealing(PCA) treatment. As the amount of precompression applied along the extrusion direction(ED)(i.e., the total strain) increases from 4% to 6%, the area fraction of ED-oriented grains of the PCA-treated alloy increases, which consequently causes an improvement in its bending formability because these grains accommodate larger tensile strain along the ED during bending. As the temperature of the subsequent annealing treatment increases from 350 ℃ to 450 ℃, both the area fraction of the ED-oriented grains and the average grain size increase, and the residual dislocation density decreases owing to the promotion of boundary migration and occurrence of the recovery process at higher temperatures.Consequently, the bending formability of both the 4%-precompressed and the 6%-precompressed samples increases with an increase in the annealing temperature. However, when the precompressed samples are annealed at 300 ℃, their bending formability is lower than that of the extruded alloy because the dislocations formed by precompression remain even after the subsequent annealing at this temperature.

Effects of Al addition on microstructure and mechanical properties of extruded Mg-3Bi alloy

Effects of Al addition to a Mg±Bi binary alloy on its microstructural characteristics and tensile properties after extrusion are investigated via extrusion of Mg-3Bi±x Al(x=0,1,and 2 wt%)billets and analysis of the extruded materials.The Al addition negligibly affects the second-phase particles of the extruded alloy;however,an increase in the Al content causes significant decreases in the average grain size and maximum texture intensity of the extruded material owing to an increase in the area fraction of dynamically recrystallized(DRXed)grains.The Al addition improves the strength of the extruded alloy;this improvement is attributed to the enhanced grain-boundary hardening and solid-solution hardening effects induced by grain refinement and Al solute atoms,respectively.As the Al content increases from 0 wt%to 1 wt%and 2 wt%,the tensile elongation increases substantially from 2.8%to 9.4%and 16.9%,respectively.The reduction in the number and size of un DRXed grains with increasing Al content suppresses the formation and coalescence of cracks in the un DRXed grains during tension,which results in a significant improvement in the tensile ductility of the extruded material.During tensile deformation,large undesirable twins that act as crack initiation sites are locally formed in the un DRXed grains of the Mg-3Bi alloy,whereas relatively smaller twins are uniformly formed in both the DRXed and the un DRXed grains of the Mg-3Bi-2Al alloy.Consequently,the extruded Mg-3Bi-2Al alloy has a substantially higher tensile yield strength±elongation product(2924 MPa%)than the extruded Al-free B3 alloy(381 MPa%).

Influence of undissolved second-phase particles on dynamic recrystallization behavior of Mg–7Sn–1Al–1Zn alloy during low-and high-temperature extrusions

This study investigates the effects of fine and coarse undissolved particles in a billet of the Mg–7 Sn–1 Al–1 Zn(TAZ711)alloy on the dynamic recrystallization(DRX)behavior during hot extrusion at low and high temperatures and the resultant microstructure and mechanical properties of the alloy.To this end,partially homogenized(PH)and fully homogenized(FH)billets are extruded at temperatures of250 and 450°C.The PH billet contains fine and coarse undissolved Mg_(2) Sn particles in the interdendritic region and along the grain boundaries,respectively.The fine particles(<1μm in size)retard DRX during extrusion at 250°C via the Zener pinning effect,and this retardation causes a decrease in the area fraction of dynamically recrystallized(DRXed)grains of the extruded alloy.In addition,the inhomogeneous distribution of fine particles in the PH billet leads to the formation of a bimodal DRXed grain structure with excessively grown grains in particle-scarce regions.In contrast,in the FH billet,numerous nanosized Mg_(2) Sn precipitates are formed throughout the material during extrusion at 250°C,which,in turn,leads to the formation of small,uniform DRXed grains by the grain-boundary pinning effect of the precipitates.When the PH billet is extruded at the high temperature of 450°C,the retardation effect of the fine particles on DRX is weakened by their dissolution in theα-Mg matrix and the increased extent of thermally activated grain-boundary migration.In contrast,the coarse Mg_(2) Sn particles in the billet promote DRX during extrusion through the particle-stimulated nucleation phenomenon,which results in an increase in the area fraction of DRXed grains.At both low and high extrusion temperatures,the extruded material fabricated using the PH billet,which contains both fine and coarse undissolved particles,has a lower tensile strength than that fabricated using the FH billet,which is virtually devoid of second-phase particles.This lower strength of the former is attributed mainly to the larger grains and/or absence of nanosized M2 Sn precipitates in it.

In?uence of Carbon Equivalent Value on the Weld Bead Bending Properties of High-Strength Low-Alloy Steel Plates

The contribution of chemical compositions in terms of carbon equivalent value（CEV） on impending crack propagation during weld bead bend tests（WBBTs） was studied with five different high-strength lowalloy steel plates that underwent different rolling processes. The test showed that cracks developed at the weld joint, easily passed through the coarse-grain heat-affected zone（CGHAZ）, and finally were arrested within the heat-affected zone（HAZ）. An apparent decrease in the average crack length, which consequently indicated improvement in crack arrestability, was found with decreasing CEV. In addition,the relatively fine microstructure in the HAZ of low-CEV steel plates helped in preventing the crack from further propagation. Special emphasis was placed on the empirical expectation of critical CEV above which WBBT might fail.

Variation in dynamic deformation behavior and resultant yield asymmetry of AZ80 alloy with extrusion temperature

In this work,variation in the dynamic recrystallization(DRX)and dynamic precipitation behavior of AZ80 alloy during extrusion due to changes in extrusion temperature was investigated,and the resultant microstructure and yield asymmetry were analyzed.As the extrusion temperature increases from 250℃to 350℃,the primary DRX mechanism changes from twin-induced DRX to discontinuous DRX,resulting in an increase in the DRX area fraction and un DRXed grain size.In addition,as the extrusion temperature rises,Mg17Al12 precipitation during extrusion decreases sharply throughout the extruded material.The reduction in the compressive yield strength(CYS)with increasing extrusion temperature is more pronounced than it is for the tensile yield strength(TYS),which ultimately increases the yield asymmetry of the extruded material.The higher extrusion temperature has less of an influence on the TYS due to the promotion of certain hardening effects.On the other hand,the greater reduction in the CYS is attributed to the increased fraction and size of regions in which{1012}twins predominantly form and the lower amount of precipitates,which effectively facilitates{1012}twinning.

Accelerated precipitation behavior of cast Mg-Al-Zn alloy by grain refinement

This study demonstrates that the precipitation behavior of 13-Mg17Al12 phase during aging and the resultant variation in hardness and mechanical properties of cast Mg-Al-Zn alloy are strongly dependent on initial grain size. Grain size reduction accelerates discontinuous precipitation at the early stage of aging treatment by increasing the area fraction of grain boundaries that can act as nucleation sites for discontinuous precipitates （DP）, but it does not influence DP growth rate. Grain refinement also prematurely terminates continuous precipitation because the formation of a large number of DP reduces the amount of AI dissolved in the matrix, which is required for the formation of continuous precipitates （CP）. This promotion of DP formation and early termination of CP formation significantly decrease the peak-aging time to one-third. The enhanced precipitation behavior also leads to an additional hardness improvement in the aged alloy, along with an increase in hardness owing to grain boundary strengthening by grain refinement. The amount of increase in hardness changes with aging time, which is determined by the variation of three variables with aging time： DP fraction difference between refined and nonrefined alloys, hardness difference between DP and matrix, and matrix hardness difference between the two alloys. Grain refinement improves both tensile strength and ductility of the homogenized alloy owing to grain boundary strengthening and suppression of twinning activation, respectively. However, the loss of ductility after peak-aging treatment is greater in the refined alloy because of the larger amount of DP acting as a crack source in this alloy.

Comparative study of tensile and high-cycle fatigue properties of extruded AZ91 and AZ91-0.3Ca-0.2Y alloys

Mg-Al-Zn-Ca-Y alloys with excellent ignition and corrosion resistances—termed SEN alloys(where the letters"S,""E,"and"N"stand for stainless,environmentally friendly,and non-flammable,respectively)—have been developed recently.In this study,the microstructure,tensile properties,and high-cycle fatigue properties of an extruded Mg-9.0Al-0.8Zn-0.1Mn-0.3Ca-0.2Y(SEN9)alloy are investigated and compared with those of a commercial Mg-9.0Al-0.8Zn-0.1Mn(AZ91)alloy extruded under the same conditions.Both the extruded SEN9 alloy and the extruded AZ91 alloy have a fully recrystallized structure comprising equiaxed grains,but the former has a smaller average grain size owing to the promoted dynamic recrystallization during extrusion.The extruded AZ91 alloy contains coarse Mg_(17)Al_(12) discontinuous precipitate(DP)bands parallel to the extrusion direction,which are formed during its cool down after extrusion.In contrast,the extruded SEN9 alloy contains relatively fine undissolved Al_(2)Ca,Al_(8)Mn_(4)Y,and Al_(2)Y second-phase particles,which are formed during the solidification stage of the casting process.The tensile strength of the extruded SEN9 alloy,which has finer grains and more abundant particles,is slightly higher than that of the extruded AZ91 alloy.However,the difference in their strengths is relatively small because the stronger solid-solution hardening and precipitation hardening effects in the extruded AZ91alloy offset the stronger grain-boundary hardening and dispersion hardening effects in the extruded SEN9alloy to some extent.The tensile elongation of the extruded AZ91 alloy is significantly lower than that of the extruded SEN9 alloy because the large cracks formed in the DP bands in the former cause its premature fracture.Although the extruded SEN9 alloy has higher tensile properties than the extruded AZ91alloy,the high-cycle fatigue life and fatigue strength of the former are shorter and lower,respectively,than those of the latter.The DP bands in the extruded AZ91 alloy do not act as fatigue crack initiation sites,and therefore,fatigue cracks initiate on the specimen surface at all stress amplitude levels.In contrast,in most of the fatigue-fractured specimens of the extruded SEN9 alloy,fatigue cracks initiate on the undissolved Al_(2)Ca and Al_(2)Y particles present on the surface or subsurface of the specimens because of the high local stress concentration on the particles during cyclic loading.This particle-initiated fatigue fracture eventually decreases the high-cycle fatigue resistance of the extruded SEN9 alloy.