Nanocrystalline hexagonal close-packed metals were rarely observed to deform by twinning; contrary to the case of face-centered cubic metals. It was noted here that, after alloying Mg with 10at%Ti, deformation twins were observed in a nanocrystalline Mg–Ti alloy which had been processed using mechanical attrition. The formation of deformation twins was attributed to the alloying effect, which could change the energy path for twinning.

Deformation Twinning in a Nanocrystalline HCP Mg Alloy. X.L.Wu, K.M.Youssef, C.C.Koch, S.N.Mathaudhu, L.J.Kecskés, Y.T.Zhu : Scripta Materialia, 2011, 64[3], 213-6