A further improvement in the room-temperature formability of magnesium alloy sheets by pre-stretching

Pre-stretching experiments were carried out on AZ31-0.5Ca magnesium alloy to alter the microstructure and texture for enhancing room-temperature formability. Compared to as-received alloy, the formability of a 5%-stretched sample was improved by 15%. This was attributed to enhanced strain hardening capability related to the weakening of basal texture and less homogeneous microstructure. In addition, in-grain misorientation axis analysis performed on the samples (as-received and stretched) also confirmed the higher activity of the non-basal slip systems in the 5%-stretched sample.