This investigation reported the anisotropic deformation behavior and concomitant texture and microstructure evolution in uniaxial tension and compression tests in two sample directions performed on an extruded commercial magnesium alloy AZ31 at different Z conditions. For specimens with the loading direction parallel to the extrusion axis, the tension–compression strength anisotropy was pronounced at high Z conditions. Loading at 45° from the extrusion axis yielded a tension–compression strength behavior that was close to isotropic. During tensile loading along the extrusion direction the extrusion texture resists twinning and favours prismatic slip (contrary to compression). This renders the shape change maximum in the basal plane and equal to zero along the c-axis, which resulted in the orientation of individual grains remaining virtually intact during all tension tests at different Z conditions. For the other investigated sample direction, straining was accommodated along the c-axis, which was associated with a lattice rotation, and thus, a change of crystal orientation. Uniaxial compression at a low Z condition (400C/10−4 s−1) yielded a desired texture degeneration, which was explained on the basis of a more homogeneous partitioning of slip systems that reduces anisotropy and enhanced dynamic recrystallization (DRX), which counteracts the strong deformation texture. The critical strains for the nucleation of DRX in tensile specimens at the highest investigated Z condition (200C/10−2 s−1) were found to range between 4% and 5.6%.

Orientation Dependent Slip and Twinning during Compression and Tension of Strongly Textured Magnesium AZ31 Alloy. T.Al-Samman, X.Li, S.G.Chowdhury: Materials Science and Engineering A, 2010, 527[15], 3450-63