THE EFFECT OF SEVERE PLASTIC DEFORMATION ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF AS-CAST AZ31

The evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties of a magnesium cast alloy (AZ31) processed by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) at two different temperatures were investigated. The as-cast alloy with an average grain size of 360 was significantly refined to about 5 after four ECAP passes at 543 K. Grain refinement was achieved through dynamic recrystallization (DRX) during the ECAP process in which the formation of necklace-type structure and bulging of original grain boundaries would be the main mechanisms. ECAP processing at lower temperature resulted in finer recrystallized grains and also a more homogenous microstructure. The mechanical behavior was investigated at room temperature by tensile tests. The obtained results showed that the ECAP processing can basically improve both strength and ductility of the cast alloy. However, the lower working temperature led to higher yield and ultimate strength of the alloy.