Room Temperature Deformation Properties of High Purity AZ31 Magnesium Alloy

Abstract

A high purity ternary alloy corresponding to the composition of AZ31 alloy was prepared using distilled magnesium (> 99.99%) and high purity aluminum and zinc. The tensile and cold rolling properties were then examined and compared with a commercial purity AZ31 alloy. The high purity alloy exhibited excellent tensile ductility and cold rolling workability. It was found that during tensile testing of the high purity alloy, the number of twinned grains increased linearly with strain, indicative of uniform deformation, while with the commercial alloy, active twinning occurred in the early stages of plastic deformation and twinning activity decreased in the latter half of the deformation regime. In association with the high degree of cold reduction and the uniform deformation characteristics of the high purity alloy, the material after annealing exhibited a recrystallized structure consisting of fine grains each about 2 μm in size.