Plastic deformation and heat treatment of Mg-Li alloys: a review

Abstract As the lightest structural metallic materials, Mg-Li alloys have a bright development prospect in the fields of aerospace, weapon equipment, electronic technology and transportation. In this paper, the research progress of deformation processing and heat treatment of Mg-Li alloys is reviewed, with particular emphasis on the factors affecting the plastic deformation, the effects of plastic deformation on microstructural evolution and mechanical properties, and the heat treatment behavior of Mg-Li alloys. The problems existing in the scale application of Mg-Li alloys are pointed out, and the research focus of Mg-Li alloys in the future are also prospected.