Effect of rare earth additions on microstructure and texture development of magnesium alloy sheets

Rare earth elements or yttrium can weaken the strong basal textures of magnesium sheets and are of interest for the improvement of sheet formability. The weakening of magnesium sheet textures with increasing content of Ce, Nd and Y is connected to the solid solubility of the respective element. A relationship is drawn between the weak textures and the appearance of deformation bands with compression and double twins during rolling and a grain growth restriction during annealing of the sheets.