Modelling of the Strain Hardening Behaviour of Die-Cast Magnesium-Aluminium-Rare Earth Alloy

Abstract

The tensile deformation behaviour of magnesium alloy AE44 (Mg-4Al-4RE) under strain rates ranging from 10-6 to 10-1 s-1 has been investigated. Present study shows that the deformation mode begins with the activation of elastic (Stage 1), followed by <a> basal slip and twinning (Stage 2), <a> prismatic slip (Stage 3) and finally to <c+a> pyramidal slip (Stage 4). The commencement of these deformation mechanisms results in four distinct stages of strain hardening in the stress-strain curve. In this work, the four stages of deformation behaviour are modelled, and an empirical equation is proposed to predict the entire stress-strain curve. Overall, the model predictions are in good agreement with the experimental data. This study on the decomposition of stress-strain curve into four stages provides insights into the contribution of individual deformation mechanism to the overall deformation behaviour and opens a new way to assess mechanical properties of die-cast magnesium alloys.