Investigating the Microstructure, Crystallographic Texture and Mechanical Behavior of Hot-Rolled Pure Mg and Mg-2Al-1Zn-1Ca Alloy

In this study, the microstructure, crystallographic texture and the mechanical performance of hot-rolled pure Mg and Mg-2Al-1Zn-1Ca (herein inferred as AZX211) were thoroughly investigated. The results showed that the designed AZX211 alloy exhibited an exceptional strength/ductility synergy where an almost 40% increase in ductility was received for AZX211. The microstructural characterization revealed the grain refinement in the AZX211, where the grain size was reduced by more than 50% (24.5 µm, 10 µm for the pure Mg and the AZX211, respectively). Moreover, a discernible number of precipitates were dispersed in the AZX211, which were confirmed to be (Mg, Al)₂Ca. The pure Mg showed a conventional strong basal texture while a significantly weakened split basal texture was received for the AZX211. The fraction of basal-oriented grains was 21% for the pure Mg and 5% for the AZX211. The significant texture weakening for the AZX211 can be attributed to the precipitation and co-segregation that triggered the preferential evolution of the non-basal grains while impeding the growth of the basal grains. This was also confirmed by the crystal orientation and the pseudo-rocking curves. The higher ductility of the AZX211 was explained based on the texture softening and Schmid factor for the basal and non-basal slip systems.