Effects of hot extrusion on microstructure, texture and mechanical properties of Mg-5Li-3Al-2Zn alloy

This work mainly studied the effects of hot extrusion on microstructure, texture and mechanical properties of Mg-5Li-3Al-2Zn alloy. The results show that the microstructures of as-cast and as-extruded alloys both consist of alpha-Mg matrix and lamellar eutectic structure (alpha-Mg and AlLi phases). During the hot extrusion, the large eutectic structure of as-cast alloy was crushed into small eutectic structure and the grains were effectively refined. A {0002} basal texture was formed after hot extrusion. The as-extruded alloy exhibits remarkably improved tensile properties, which is mainly attributed to the grain refinement and the formation of texture.