Polycrystalline behavior analysis of extruded magnesium alloy AZ31

Uniaxial tensile and compressive tests were performed at room temperature on extruded AZ31 Mg alloy specimens and distinct tensile-compressive anisotropy was detected. Deformed specimens were examined and the results indicate that the generation of {10 12}〈10 11〉 twin is responsible for the mechanical anisotropy. A rate independent crystal plasticity model, which accounts for both slip and twinning, was developed for polycrystalline hexagonal close packed (HCP) materials. Model predictions for the stress-strain curves and texture evolution were in reasonable agreement with the experimental results. Specifically, the model captured the three stages of strain hardening for uniaxial-compression. By comparing stress-strain curves and texture evolution between model predictions and experimental measures, information about the dominant slip and twinning systems active at room temperature was deduced. © 2013 Shanghai Jiaotong University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.