Influence of isochronal heat treatment on damping behavior of AZ61 alloy

Abstract

Strain amplitude dependence of the logarithmic decrement was measured and studied on an AZ61 magnesium alloy at room temperature. Measurements were carried out before and after isochronal thermal treatment step by step with increasing temperature. For all specimens, the strain dependence of the logarithmic decrement exhibits two regions. At lower strains the logarithmic decrement is strain independent and in the higher strain region it depends strongly on strain amplitude. The strain-independent logarithmic decrement is mainly composed of thermoelastic damping and dislocation damping, which can be explained by Granato-Lucke theory. In addition, the strain-independent logarithmic decrement for the specimens annealed at higher temperatures is a little lower than that for as-cast specimen, and it increases with increasing temperature of heat treatment. Microstructure changes due to heat treatment are responsible for changes of the logarithmic decrement.