Ductility improvement by twinning and twin–slip interaction in a Mg-Y alloy

Abstract

An extruded Mg-3.0Y alloy with non-basal texture of 〈42¯2¯3〉 component was fabricated by common extrusion and exhibited a high elongation of ∼33%. The deformation modes and microstructure evolution of the extruded Mg-3.0Y alloy during the tensile test at room temperature were investigated to explore the reasons for the high ductility by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD). The results suggested that texture changed from 〈42¯2¯3〉 to 〈101¯0〉 component during the tensile deformation, which is attributed the slip and twinning activity. Basal slip and extension twinning are the dominant deformation modes for the high ductility. Meanwhile, the activation of non-basal slip, contraction twinning and twin–slip interaction also contributes to the good ductility of Mg-3.0Y alloy.