Physical thermo-mechanical simulation of magnesium: An in-situ diffraction study

Time-resolved, two-dimensional synchrotron high-energy X-ray diffraction has been utilized for the in-situ investigation of the microstructural evolution of magnesium, during heating and during plastic deformation at various temperatures. Throughout static heating of the as-extruded material, first recovery, then recrystallization and finally grain growth occurred with increasing temperature. Grain rotation was observed during grain growth of the static heated samples. Subsequent plastic deformation, through compression, at lower temperatures revealed the activated deformation systems. At room temperature, extension-twinning flips the crystallite orientations abruptly from the extrusion to the compression fiber texture. In contrast, at elevated temperatures, twinning is negligible and the texture reorientation progresses in a gradual steady-state flow regime, ending in a tilted basal texture with a tilt angle depending on the degree of deformation. The methodology described herein offers parametric studies related to microstructural and deformation processes in an unprecedented way.