Influence of Temperature, Strain Rate, and Sheet Thickness on the Deformation Behaviour of Twin-Roll Cast, Rolled and Heat-Treated AZ31 under Uniaxial Loading

Abstract

The influence of temperature, strain rate, and sheet thickness on the mechanical properties of twin-roll cast, rolled and heat-treated AZ31 was investigated under tensile loading from different directions (0°, 90°). To assess the forming behaviour of different sheet thicknesses (0.6 mm, 1 mm), tensile tests were performed with an electromechanical testing device between 20 °C and 300 °C at strain rates of 10−4 s−1 and 10−2 s−1. With rising temperature, the flow stress decreased while the elongation to failure (A80) increased, which may be related to the enhanced dislocation motion and the activation of additional nonbasal slip systems at T > 200 °C. It can be seen that the anisotropy of flow stress and elongation to failure was influenced by the temperature, the strain rate, and the sheet thickness.