Effect of grain refinement and crystallographic texture produced by friction stir processing on the biodegradation behavior of a Mg-Nd-Zn alloy

The application of a single pass of friction stir processing(FSP) to Mg-Nd-Zn alloy resulted in grain refinement, texture evolution and redistribution of second phases, which improved corrosion resistance.In this work, an as-rolled Mg-Nd-Zn alloy was subjected to FSP. The microstructure in the processed zone of the FS-400 rpm alloy exhibited refined grains, a more homogenous grain size distribution, less second phases, and stronger basal plane texture. The corrosion behavior assessed using immersion tests and electrochemical tests in Hank’s solution indicated that the FS-400 rpm alloy had a lower corrosion rate, which was attributed to the increase of basal plane intensity and grain refinement. The hardness was lowered slightly and the elongation was increased, which might be attributed to the redistribution of the crushed second phases.