Dual influences of deformation-induced W precipitates on dynamic recrystallization and fracture mechanism of the hot-extruded Mg-Y-Zn alloys: An experimental and phase field study

Abstract

Understanding the relationship between nano-sized precipitates and dynamic recrystallization (DRX) during thermo-mechanical processing is vital for developing high-performance Mg-based alloys. This work uses experiment and phase field model to investigate the dynamic precipitation of W particles and DRX grains in the hot-extruded Mg98.5Y1Zn0.5 alloys at 360, 380 and 400 °C and clarifies the fracture mechanisms in detail. The results reveal that under all temperatures, the hot-extruded Mg98.5Y1Zn0.5 alloys are composed of block 18R long-period stacking order (LPSO) phase, lamellar 14H-LPSO phase, W particles and a typical bimodal structure containing fine DRX grains and coarse non-DRX grains. Noted that the W particles not only promote the DRX nucleation by hindering dislocation motion to increase elastic energy, but also inhibit the growth of DRX grains by pinning grain boundaries during deformation. In addition, the strength decreases while the plasticity increases with increasing temperature for the hot-extruded Mg98.5Y1Zn0.5 alloys, but an excellent strength-plasticity balance is achieved at 400 °C. More importantly, analyzing the crack extension in non-DRX, DRX and non-DRX/DRX coexistence regions shows that a ductile-brittle fracture mechanism dominates in the non-DRX regions due to the difficulty of basal slip and low fracture toughness. But a hole-joining fracture mechanism dominates in the DRX regions. The fracture mechanism in the non-DRX/DRX coexistence region is mainly determined by the DRX volume fraction. These results can provide insights and valuable references for developing high-performance Mg-based alloys.