Enhancement of Mechanical Properties and Rolling Formability in AZ91 Alloy by RD-ECAP Processing

Qiong Xu; Aibin Ma; Yuhua Li; Bassiouny Saleh; Yuchun Yuan; Jinghua Jiang; Chaoying Ni

doi:10.3390/ma12213503

Enhancement of Mechanical Properties and Rolling Formability in AZ91 Alloy by RD-ECAP Processing

Materials (Basel). 2019 Oct 25;12(21):3503. doi: 10.3390/ma12213503.

Authors

Qiong Xu^{1

2}, Aibin Ma^{1

3}, Yuhua Li^{1

3}, Bassiouny Saleh¹, Yuchun Yuan¹, Jinghua Jiang¹, Chaoying Ni²

Affiliations

¹ College of Mechanics and Materials, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China.
² Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
³ Suqian Institute of Hohai University, Suqian 223800, China.

Abstract

In this study, the influence of rotary-die equal channel angular pressing (RD-ECAP) processing on the mechanical properties and rolling formability of AZ91 alloys was investigated. The as-cast and pre-homogenized AZ91 alloys were pre-processed by RD-ECAP for 16 passes at 573 K and subjected to post-ECAP rolling at 573 K with a rolling speed of 10 m/min. The microstructure and deformation characteristics of the AZ91 alloys were characterized. Results demonstrated that fine-grained AZ91 alloys with improved strength and ductility were obtained via the high-pass RD-ECAP processing, indicating a good plastic formability. The ECAP-ed alloys were easily rolled at 573 K from 4.5 mm to 1.1 mm in thickness without edge cracking. After rolling, heterogeneous grain structures were observed with large numbers of twins and shear bands that created strong basal textures. The rolled AZ91 alloys exhibited higher tensile strength and appropriate elongation. The post-ECAP rolling was successfully used in the high productivity of AZ91 rolled plates with good mechanical properties.

Keywords: AZ91 alloy; RD-ECAP processing; mechanical properties; post-ECAP rolling; rolling formability.

Abstract

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