Microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of high strength magneisum alloys fabricated by deformation processing

The goal of this research was to develop high strength Mg by thermo-mechanical processing. Several novel techniques were developed to impart large plastic strains on Mg alloys and Mg based composites. The main emphasis of this work was on investigating the effect of different processing schemes on grain-refinement and texture modification of processed material. The room-temperature and elevated-temperature mechanical behavior of processed-Mg was studied in detail. Biaxial corrugated pressing, also known as alternate biaxial reverse corrugation processing was applied to twin-roll cast AZ31 Mg and warm-extruded ZK60 Mg. Friction stir processing to partial depths was applied to thixomolded AM60 Mg and warm-extruded ZK60 Mg. A new process called "bending reverse-bending", was developed and applied to hot rolled AZ31-H24 Mg. A Mg/Al laminated composite was developed by hot pressing and rolling. In processed condition, Mg alloys exhibit enhancement in room-temperature strength and ductility, as well as elevated temperature formability. It was concluded that improvement in mechanical properties of processed-Mg is strongly influenced by grain size and precipitates; while ductility largely depends on resulting deformation textures.