On the influence of the grain size and solute content on the AE response of magnesium alloys tested in tension and compression

Tensile and compression tests were conducted for AZ31, AZ61 and AZ80 alloys at room temperature. The distinctive tension/compression asymmetry in the yield behaviour was analysed for textured samples from extruded bars with various grain sizes. Parallel measurements of the acoustic emission were carried out to gather information about the relative activity of twinning and dislocation glide during deformation. The acoustic emission data are used to elaborate on the possible roles of grain size and aluminium content on the deformation behaviour.