Defect healing of cold rolled Mg-1Zn-1Gd alloy by high energy electropulsing treatment

This study investigates the processing process of Mg-1Zn-1Gd (ZG11) alloy subjected to cold rolling and electropulsing treatment (EPT). Initially, the samples underwent multi-passes cold rolling, reducing their thickness to 1[Formula: see text]mm. The cold rolling process induced strain and caused the formation of microcracks inside the alloy. Subsequently, the samples were treated by electropulsing to modify their deformed microstructures. The results suggest that EPT is an effective method to heal the internal microcracks of metallic materials. The mechanisms of microcrack healing are supposed to be localized heating and compressive stress, promoted atomic mobility and recrystallization in the vicinity of microcrack. The processing process of cold rolling and EPT offers a promising approach to deal with the internal defects of Mg alloys generated during cold working and therefore recover the workability, providing potential benefits for industrial applications of wrought Mg alloy products.