Serrated flow in magnesium alloy AZ91

Serrated flow has recently been observed in the ternary Mg–9 wt.% Al–1 wt.% Zn alloy AZ91 at room temperature. Binary and ternary alloys with various contents of Zn and Al have, therefore, been tested to determine the extent to which the individual solutes, Al or Zn, are responsible for the serrations. The results show that jerky flow develops only in alloy AZ91 suggesting that both solutes are active. Possible roles played by the Al and Zn atoms in solution are discussed in terms of current models.