To investigate the role of preexisting twin boundaries in magnesium alloys during the deformation process, a large number of {10-12} tensile twins were introduced by a radial compression at room temperature before hot compressive tests with both low and high strain rates. Unlike the stable twins in Cu-based alloys with low stacking fault energies, {10-12} twins in Mg alloy are extremely unstable or easy to detwin through {10-12}-{10-12} re-twinning. As a result, non-lenticular residual twins and twin traces with misorientation of 5°-7° were present, as confirmed by electron backscatter diffraction. The extreme instability of the twins during compression indicates that both twin and detwinning require extremely low resolved shear stresses under our experimental conditions.
Keywords: detwinning; electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD); forging; magnesium alloys; twinning.