Mechanical behavior and microstructure evolution for extruded AZ31 sheet under side direction strain

AZ31 magnesium alloy sheets were prepared by a conventional extrusion (CE) and a novel integrated extrusion with side direction strain (SE). The microstructure characterizations, crystallographic texture and mechanical property tests were carried out and compared between the extruded Mg alloy sheets processed by CE and SE. The results indicated that the SE sheets exhibited an excellent combination of strength and ductility. To reveal the side strain effect, the finite element model was employed to investigate the effective stress and strain behavior of the AZ31 magnesium alloy sheets during CE and SE processes. It was found that the SE process was effective in weakening the stress and strain concentration. This implied that it developed an additional side direction strain through the sheet thickness during the hot extrusion. Meanwhile, the side strain shear paths could promote the local accumulation of dynamically recrystallized grains and increase the random high-angle boundaries to achieve weak (0002) basal texture. Important factors including the side strain path and extrusion parameters need to be taken into account to understand the deformation mechanism and microstructure evolution.