Mechanical behavior of AZ31 due to texture and microstructure

Achieving high strength in common Mg alloys requires phase, texture, and grain size distribution engineering. After processing AZ31B for two passes with three different ECAE routes, the effect of differing textures on the mechanical behavior of materials with similar grain sizes was analyzed using multidirectional tensile testing. In order to understand the effect of grain size alone, another sample was created with finer grain size but similar texture to one of the two-pass samples. Yield strength, hardening, and mechanical anisotropy were examined as a function of microstructure and texture. Strength does scale with grain size and, in one case, results in 350MPa yield and 500MPa ultimate strength. However, the grain size effect seems weak in most orientations and does not have a drastic effect on room temperature ductility. Mechanical anisotropy increases with texture strength. Commentary is made on the development of texture and microstructure during processing.