J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2015, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (3): 264-268.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2014.11.018

• Orginal Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

De-twinning and Texture Change in an Extruded AM30 Magnesium Alloy during Compression along Normal Direction

D. Sarker, J. Friedman, D.L. Chen   

  1. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario M5B 2K3, Canada
  • Received:2014-09-10 Online:2015-03-20 Published:2015-07-23
  • Contact: Corresponding author. Prof., Ph.D.; Tel.: +1 416 979 5000x6487; Fax: +1 416 979 5265.E-mail address: dchen@ryerson.ca (D.L. Chen).
  • Supported by:
    The authors thank the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and AUTO21 Network of Centres of Excellence for providing financial support. The authors also thank Dr. A.A. Luo from Ohio State University (formerly with General Motors Research and Development Center) for the supply of extruded AM30 magnesium alloy. One of the authors (D.L. Chen) is also grateful for the financial support by the Premier's Research Excellence Award (PREA), NSERC-Discovery Accelerator Supplement (DAS) Award, Automotive Partnership Canada (APC), Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), and Ryerson Research Chair (RRC) Program. The authors would like to thank Dr. R. Tandon and Dr. B. Davies (Magnesium Elektron) for supplying magnesium powders for the defocusing calibration. The authors would also like to thank Messrs. Q. Li, A. Machin, C. Ma, J. Amankrah and R. Churaman for easy access to the laboratory facilities of Ryerson University and their assistance in the experiments.

Abstract: Twinning and de-twinning are the salient deformation mechanisms in hexagonal close-packed (hcp) metals. The aim of this study was to examine and quantify the de-twinning process involving a reversible motion of twin boundaries in an extruded AM30 magnesium alloy after re-compression along the normal direction (ND) of pre-compressed samples along the extrusion direction (ED). {101¯2} extension twins were first introduced at a compressive strain of 3.7% along the ED. The subsequent compressive deformation along the ND induced a gradual shrinkage of twins with increasing cumulative true strain, and the complete de-twinning occurred at a strain of ~7.7%. The twin width decreased linearly with increasing true strain. Texture measurements verified the rotation of c -axes of hcp unit cells towards the anti-compression direction due to {101¯2} extension twinning after compression along the ED, and a gradual return of c -axes to the initial orientation due to twin shrinking or de-twinning during the following compression along the ND. The {101¯2} twinning corresponded to the formation of new texture components C{1¯21¯0}<0001> and D{011¯0}<0001> and a decrease in the initial texture components A{0001}<21¯0> and B{0001}<101¯0>, while the twin shrinking or de-twinning was characterized by a gradual vanishing of components C{1¯21¯0}<0001> and D{011¯0}<0001> and an increase in the components A{0001}<21¯0> and B{0001}<101¯0>.

Key words: Magnesium alloy, Compressive deformation, Twinning, De-twinning, Texture