Revealing the dynamic recrystallization mechanism, extrusion deformation mechanism, and tensile deformation behavior of Mg–6Al–1Zn–1.1Sc alloy

In this study, extruded deformed billet and extruded rod of Mg–6Al–1Zn–1.1Sc (wt. %) alloy were characterized by optical microscopy (OM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The room temperature tensile properties and deformation behavior of extruded alloy were investigated using a universal testing machine and the visco-plastic self-consistent (VPSC) model. The results indicated that the coarse deformed grains (DGs) progressively disappeared and the degree of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) of the alloy increased as the sampling position approached the outlet of the extrusion die. In addition, the grain boundary strengthening induced by DRX increased the corresponding Vickers hardness. DRX mechanisms during extrusion included discontinuous DRX, continuous DRX, twin-induced DRX, and particle-stimulated nucleation (PSN). The EBSD-based in-grain misorientation axes (IGMA) analysis revealed that the slip modes within DGs were dominated by prismatic slip in the early stages of extrusion and by multiple slip modes in the later stages. The yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and elongation of the extruded alloy were 172.4 MPa, 290.1 MPa, and 26.9%, respectively. The combination of grain boundary strengthening, texture strengthening, and secondary phase strengthening resulted in the high yield strength. The VPSC model well simulated the tensile deformation of the extruded alloy with (0001)//ED (extrusion direction) fiber texture. The superior plasticity of the extruded alloy was ascribed to the high Schmid factor (SF) of the non-basal slip and the activation of the non-basal slip facilitated by the reduction in the ratio of the critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) between the non-basal slip and the basal slip.