Numerical study on the plastic deformation behavior of AZ31 magnesium alloy under different loading conditions

Based on the stress characteristics of the instantaneous cross-section deformation of the wall reducing section during the cold rolling of two-roll Pilger pipes, the rectangular samples with 0° and 90° to the extrusion direction (ED) were cut from the extruded AZ31 magnesium alloy bar for 3% pre-deformation test to simulate its stress state equivalently. The sample was then cut from the pre-deformed sample by wire cutting for secondary compression, and the sample that is not pre-deformed is selected. The mechanical behavior and texture evolution of AZ31 magnesium alloy under different loading conditions were respectively studied by EBSD experiment and VPSC simulation. Results show that the true stress–strain curve and texture evolution characteristics of AZ31 magnesium alloy during the secondary compression process are in good agreement with the prediction of the VPSC model. The secondary compression behavior can be effectively explained by the relative activity of the deformation modes. The pre-deformation in the ∥ED (⊥ED) direction is conducive to the shift of the pole density of the {0001} basal surface texture to the positive and negative directions of the ED (TD). The pre-deformed sample exhibits a higher yield strength than the non-pre-deformed sample in the same loading direction. The high ductility of magnesium alloys can be achieved by activating pyramidal 〈c + a〉 slippage.

Effect of annealing temperature and time on recrystallization behavior of Mg-Gd-Y-Zn-Zr alloy

In this paper, the effect of annealing treatment on the microstructure and hardness of extruded Mg-9Gd-4Y-2Zn-0.5Zr alloy (wt. %) was discussed. The microstructure evolution of the alloy under different annealing conditions was studied by optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), and the variation of hardness was analyzed. With the increase of annealing temperature, the large deformed grains first break into small recrystallized grains. When the temperature continues to increase, the recrystallized grains grow abnormally with the precipitation of chain phase and the fragmentation of lamellar long-period stacking ordered (LPSO) phase. The alloy does not recrystallize at low temperature, and the recrystallized grains grow abnormally at high temperature. The increase of annealing time will also lead to abnormal growth of recrystallized grains. The texture gradually diffuses from the classical extrusion texture to the extrusion direction (ED). The results show that under the condition of 430 °C × 5h, the recrystallization volume of the alloy is the largest, the recrystallization grain distribution is uniform, and the hardness value is the highest.

Microstructure and properties evolution of Mg–2Y–0.6Nd–0.6Zr alloy rolled at room and liquid nitrogen temperature

The microstructure evolution, texture, mechanical behavior and twin deformation of the ECAPed Mg–2Y–0.6Nd–0.6Zr alloy at room and liquid nitrogen temperature were investigated by rolling samples. The ECAP processed material appeared the texture of 45° to the extrusion direction and its yield strength reached 93.6 MPa. The results showed that cryorolling encourages twinning in Mg–2Y–0.6Nd–0.6Zr alloy, enhancing the tensile strength and texture. Activation of {10–12} twinning during rolling was found to be more pronounced in the cryorolled samples than in the cold rolled samples owing to a lower temperature. As a result, the cryorolled samples had more twins than and cold rolled ones, the proportion of twin areas of room temperature rolling and ultra-low temperature rolling were: 2.45% and 4.23%.

Anisotropy in tensile behavior of an extruded Mg-4.50Zn-1.13Ca (wt.%) alloy

The present study investigated anisotropy in tensile behavior of an extruded Mg-4.50Zn-1.13Ca (wt.%) alloy through tensile testing along different tilt angles relative to the extrusion direction. Results showed that the as-extruded Mg-4.50Zn-1.13Ca (wt.%) alloy exhibited anisotropy in tensile behavior due to the formation of basal texture. Basal slip, prismatic slip and tensile twinning were the dominant deformation modes depending on the tensile direction. Prismatic slip was the dominant deformation mode for samples with small tilt angle (θ = 0° and 22.5°). Basal slip was activated when the tilt angle was increased, which also resulted in the decrease of yield strength. Tensile twinning was responsible for the yielding of the samples with high tilt angles (θ = 67.5° and 90°). The ductility was significantly reduced at high tilt angle, which was mainly attributed to the appearance of tensile twinning during tensile deformation.

Effect of Loading Direction on the Tensile Properties and Texture Evolution of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy

Samples were cut from an extruded AZ31 magnesium alloy bar for uniaxial tensile and EBSD characterization tests. The long axis and bar extrusion directions were 0° (T0 sample), 45° (T45 sample), and 90° (T90 sample). The effects of loading direction on the tensile behavior, microstructure, and texture evolution of the magnesium alloy were studied. Results show that the obvious mechanical anisotropy of tensile behavior is affected by the loading direction, and the T0 sample with a grain c-axis perpendicular to the extrusion direction has a strong basal texture and high flow stress and yield strength. The loading direction has a significant influence on the microstructure characteristics of different samples, especially the number of {10–12} tensile twins and {10–11} compression twins. Texture evolution results show that the loading direction and the effect of deformation mode on the deformation mechanism lead to variations in texture evolution: the basal slip and prismatic slip during the plastic deformation of the T0 specimen, the compression twin of the T45 specimen, and the tensile twin of the T90 specimen.

Effect of Microstructure on the Dimensional Stability of Extruded Pure Aluminum

High-performance extruded aluminum alloys with complex textures suffer significant dimension variation under environmental temperature fluctuations, dramatically decreasing the precision of navigation systems. This research mainly focuses on the effect of the texture of extruded pure aluminum on its dimensional stability after various annealing processes. The result reveals that a significant increment in the area fraction of recrystallized grains with <100> orientation and a decrement in the area fraction of grains with <111> orientation were found with increasing annealing temperature. Moreover, with the annealing temperature increasing from 150 °C to 400 °C, the residual plastic strain after twelve thermal cycles with a temperature range of 120 °C was changed from −1.6 × 10−5 to −4.5 × 10−5. The large amount of equiaxed grains with <100> orientation was formed in the microstructure of the extruded pure aluminum and the average grain size was decreased during thermal cycling. The area fraction of grain with <100> crystallographic orientation of the sample annealed at 400 °C after thermal cycling was 30.9% higher than annealed at 350 °C (23.7%) or at 150 °C (18.7%). It is attributed to the increase in the proportion of recrystallization grains with <100> direction as the annealing temperature increases, provided more nucleation sites for the formation of fine equiaxed grains with <100> orientation. The main orientation of the texture was rotated from parallel to <111> to parallel to <100> after thermal cycling. The change in the orientation of grains contributed to a change in interplanar spacing, which explains the change in the dimension along the extrusion direction during thermal cycling.

Anisotropic Low Cycle Behavior of the Extruded 7075 Al Alloy

The quasi-static and low cycle fatigue tests of extruded 7075 Al alloy (Φ200 mm) were investigated in three directions: the extrusion direction (ED), the radial direction (RD), and 45° with ED (45°). Grain morphology analysis, texture measurement, and fatigue fracture characterization were conducted to discuss the relationship between microstructure and mechanical properties. The experimental results showed that the ED specimen had higher ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and low cycle fatigue (LCF) properties, which were mainly attributed to the following three causes. First, the grain boundaries (GBs) had an obvious effect on the crack growth. The number of GBs in the three directions was different due to the shape of the grains elongated along the ED. Second, the sharp <111> texture and the small Schmidt factor along the ED explained the higher ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the ED specimens. Third, fatigue fracture observation showed that the ED specimen had a narrow fatigue striation spacing, which indicated that the plastic deformation of the ED specimen was the smallest in each cycle. In addition, two fatigue prediction models were established to predict the LCF life of extruded 7075 Al alloy, based on the life response behavior of the three directions under different strains.

The Correlation of Texture and the Formation of the Adiabatic Shear Band in 7XXX Aluminum Alloy during Dynamic Loading

The mechanical behavior of the extruded 7003-T6 aluminum profiles used as automotive buffer beams is investigated. The correlation of the texture and the formation of the adiabatic shear band is analyzed. Copper texture, R texture, and S texture are the main reasons for the anisotropy of mechanical behavior of the profile, resulting in that the stress of the profile along the extrusion direction is higher than that perpendicular to the extrusion direction. Through finite element modeling (FEM), it can be found that the adiabatic shear band is developed in the sample if the dynamic loading direction is parallel to the extrusion direction, but it does not appear if the loading direction is perpendicular to the extrusion direction. When the dynamic loading direction is parallel to the extrusion direction, higher stress results in a lower energy barrier for shear localization. Therefore, the formation of the adiabatic shear band is susceptible along but is not sensitive perpendicular to the extrusion direction. This study provides technical support for the service of 7003 aluminum alloy in automobiles, which has important academic and engineering application value.

Influences of Expanding Angles on Extrusion-Shearing-Expansion Processing of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy Thin-Walled Tubes

To research the influence mechanisms of expanding angles on extrusion-shearing-expansion(ESE) process of AZ31 magnesium alloy thin-walled tubes,the effects of different expanding angles on microstructures and mechanical properties of AZ31 magnesium alloy during extrusion-shear-expansion process have been investigated by optical microscope(OM),scanning electron microscope (SEM),X-ray diffractometer(XRD).Three expanding angles 130°,140°,150° have been used.The forming loads varying with expanding ratios,and equivalent strains at various expanding angles have been simulated by Deform-3D software.The research results show that the qualities and mechanical properties of the formed tube are satisfactory, and extrusion-shearing-expanding process can refine the grain of AZ31 magnesium alloy thin-walled tubes.The grain sizes decrease with the decrease of expanding angles.When the expanding angle is 140°,the comprehensive mechanical properties are best,and yield strength is 122.3MPa,the tensile strength 288.6MPa,the elongation 15.2%, the texture intense is optimized due to the DRX.The deflections of basal plane for most grains are obvious relative to the extrusion direction(ED).