Abstract
A rolled sheet of the magnesium alloy AZ31 exhibiting a strong basal texture was analyzed in order to reveal the influence of this texture on the activation of individual deformation mechanisms. Sets of samples with three distinct orientations - rolling direction (RD), normal direction (ND) and 45° between RD and ND (45) were subjected to compressive loading.
During this, a set of mutually complementary advanced in-situ experimental techniques was employed to reveal the active deformation mechanisms. Neutron diffraction spectra were collected in pre-selected points along the deformation curves together with a concurrent measurement of the acoustic emission (AE) signal.
The samples were further compressed inside the specimen chamber of a scanning electron microscope, allowing for the collection of electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) patterns in corresponding stages of deformation. These measurements were complemented by a high-speed camera imaging of the deformed sample surface providing an insight in the macroscopic inhomogeneities of strain distribution, further highlighted by application of a digital image correlation (DIC) analysis on these datasets.
The key influence of sample orientation with respect to the detected texture and direction of loading on the activation of individual deformation mechanisms mediating its plasticity was confirmed due to the mutually complementary information obtained from each experimental technique. Namely the activity of the {101 ̅2} extension twinning throughout the straining of the samples has proved to play a crucial role in the overall mechanical properties of the deformed material, mediating yielding as well as providing potential for further strain accommodation in the favorably oriented samples.