Cavitation during grain-boundary-sliding deformation in an AZ61 magnesium alloy

Cavitation behavior has been investigated in a relatively coarse-grained AZ61 alloy deformed under two conditions for which grain-boundary sliding (GBS) creep controls plastic flow and which produce the same flow stress of 10 MPa. At a strain rate of 10(-5) s(-1) and a temperature of 573 K, GBS creep is rate controlled by grain-boundary diffusion, D(GB). At a strain rate of 2 x 10(-4) s(-1) and a temperature of 648 K, GBS creep is rate controlled by lattice diffusion, D(L). Tensile elongation is slightly greater when D(GB) accommodates GBS deformation. Despite accommodation of GBS by different diffusion mechanisms, cavity evolution under both deformation conditions is quite similar. Cavity volume percent increases similarly with strain under both conditions, as does the radius of the largest cavities. Cavity areal number density distributions are similar between the different deformation conditions when strain is a constant. All the features observed for cavitation indicate that cavity growth is plasticity controlled under both deformation conditions. The theory of plasticity-controlled cavity growth is in very good agreement with experimental data produced for this investigation. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.