Microstructure evolution in AZ61 alloy processed by equal channel angular pressing

Abstract

Magnesium and its alloys are finding increasing use in aerospace, automobile, nuclear, electrical, and structural engineering applications because of their high strength-to-weight ratio when compared to aluminum, titanium, and steel. In this work, AZ61 wrought magnesium alloy was processed using equal channel angular pressing at three different temperatures of 483, 523, and 573 K using up to four equal channel angular pressing passes. A microstructural study was conducted by measuring the average grain size after each pass, for the three different processing temperatures. The mechanical properties of the processed samples were noted to improve due to the reduction in the grain size after each equal channel angular pressing pass. After four equal channel angular pressing passes, the average grain size of the AZ61 samples was found to be reduced to 85%, 81%, and 70% for the pressing temperatures of 483, 523, and 573 K, respectively. The tensile strength of the AZ61 alloy increased with increase in the number of equal channel angular pressing passes for each of the temperatures when compared to as-received alloy. For instance, for the processing temperatures of 483, 523, and 573 K, the tensile strength increased by 24%, 10%, and 12%, respectively, at four equal channel angular pressing passes. Also, the percentage elongation of the alloy was increased with increase in processing temperatures. Moreover, fracture topographies of the tensile surfaces are illustrated through scanning electron microcopy and reveal ductile fracture than as-received alloy for four passes at each equal channel angular pressing processing temperature.