Mechanical behavior and microstructural analysis of extruded AZ31B magnesium alloy processed by backward extrusion

Abstract

This study investigates the mechanical behavior of an extruded AZ31B magnesium alloy profile at various strain rates from 0.001 to 375/s. The electron backscatter diffraction analysis revealed that the profile has {0001}⟨101 ¯ ¯ ¯ 0⟩ {0001}⟨101¯0⟩ and {101 ¯ ¯ ¯ 0}⟨112 ¯ ¯ ¯ 0⟩ {101¯0}⟨112¯0⟩ textures. Due to the textures, the profile exhibits pronounced anisotropy in mechanical properties. In the extrusion direction (ED), the profile shows the highest yield strength (YS) but the lowest total elongation at fracture (TE) due to a hard activation of non-basal slip and {101 ¯ ¯ ¯ 1}⟨101 ¯ ¯ ¯ 2 ¯ ¯ ¯ ⟩ {101¯1}⟨101¯2¯⟩ twinning; in the diagonal direction (DD), it shows the lowest ultimate tensile strength (UTS) but the highest TE due to an easy activation of basal slip; in the transverse direction (TD), it shows the lowest YS due to an easy activation of {101 ¯ ¯ ¯ 2}⟨101 ¯ ¯ ¯ 1 ¯ ¯ ¯ ⟩ {101¯2}⟨101¯1¯⟩ twinning. Moreover, the number of twins increases with the increasing strain rate. This indicates that deformation twinning becomes prevalent to accommodate high-rate deformation. Due to the different deformation mechanisms, the profile exhibits an orientation-dependent effect of strain rate on the mechanical properties. A positive effect of strain rate on the YS and UTS was found in the ED, while the effect of strain rate on the YS is negligible in the DD and TD. The TE in the ED, DD, and TD decreases in general as the strain rate increases. Fractographic analysis under a scanning electron microscope revealed that the fracture is a mixed mode of ductile and brittle fracture, and the magnesium oxide inclusions could be the origins of the fracture.