Abstract
Tailored heat-treated blank is a special kind of sheet, and the plastic forming ability can be improved. In this work, the poor room-temperature plasticity of a tailored magnesium alloy blank was address through arc heat treatment. The formability of the material was enhanced through local modification with arc pretreatment. The plasticity of the tailored arc-heat-treated blank was verified through the V-bending test. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the blank were tested, and the mechanisms underlying its improved deformability were analyzed. The bendability of the blank first increased and then decreased as heat input increased. The maximum V-bending ability of the arc-heat-treated blank increased by 88% relative to that of the untreated blank. Although springback decreased under increasing heat input, the local strength and elastic modulus of the alloy blank were equivalent to those of the base metal. This result indicated that the springback resistance of the material did not improve. The back of the blank treated under the optimal parameters comprised heat-affected zones with good plasticity. Recrystallization and grain growth occurred in the heat-affected zones. The blank exhibited reduced hardness and improved malleability. When the heat input was further increased, however, a semi-melting zone formed on the lower surface of the blank. The formation of this zone resulted in the precipitation of intermetallic compounds from the crystal phase and increased the hardness of the blank. It also decreased the plasticity and malleability of the blank.
Highlights
As the lightest metal structural material, magnesium alloy has good application prospects in the fields of rail transit, automobile, and aerospace [1]
Magnesium alloy has a closely packed hexagonal crystal structure, and the sliding system is single at room temperature, resulting in poor plastic deformation ability
Magnesium alloy sheets are prone to cracking during plastic deformation, which is a disadvantage in the production of their complex structural parts [3]
Summary
As the lightest metal structural material, magnesium alloy has good application prospects in the fields of rail transit, automobile, and aerospace [1]. The key idea is to heat a specific area of sheet metal with a heat source depending on the requirement of plastic formation to change sheet metal’s performance distribution. This treatment can improve the local forming limit of sheet metal and enhance the robustness of the whole production process [10]. In arc welding, softening of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) has different effects on the properties of sheet metal, but the plasticity and toughness of its softening structure have been improved to a certain extent, providing favorable conditions for plastic formation. V-shaped bending experiments were carried out to study the bending fracture and springback of magnesium alloy sheets under different treatment conditions, and the structure and mechanical properties of magnesium alloy sheets after pretreatment were analyzed
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