Unusual texture formation in Mg–3Al–1Zn alloy sheets processed by slope extrusion

Abstract

A novel extrusion process, namely, slope extrusion (SE), was proposed to produce Mg–3Al–1Zn alloy sheet, thereby tailoring the strong basal texture of conventional extruded (CE) sheet. The grain morphology and texture were examined, and the tensile tests were performed along 0°, 45°, and 90° with extrusion direction. Moreover, the finite element simulation was performed to have a better understanding on the extrusion processes. An elongated weak double-peak texture titled from extrusion direction to transverse direction about 48° was obtained for the SE sheet and meanwhile the two peaks titled away from normal direction by ~ 35°. Therefore, the SE sheet showed lower yield strength and higher ductility compared with CE sheet. Especially, in terms of the transverse direction specimen of the SE sheet, the ductility reached 27.3%, which was considered as an excellent value for the wrought AZ31 sheet.