Bake-hardenable Mg-Al-Zn-Mn-Ca sheet alloy processed by twin-roll casting

Mg-1.3Al-0.8Zn-0.7Mn-0.5Ca (wt.%) (AZMX1110) alloy sheet produced by low-cost twin-roll casting process exhibits excellent room temperature formability with a large Index Erichsen (I.E.) value of 7.8 mm at room temperature in a solution treated condition (T4). The large I.E. value is associated with a weak basal texture in the T4-condition. This alloy shows rapid age-hardening response at 170 degrees C, resulting in a significant increase of the flow stress from 198 MPa to 238 MPa within 20 min; such bake hardenability (BH) has never been explored in magnesium sheet alloys before. The microstructure of the bake-hardened sample, characterized by a correlative transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography (TEM-APT), reveals that Al, Zn and Ca atoms are segregated to basal <a> dislocations and contribute to the strengthening by pinning dislocation motions, along with the co-clustering of these atoms. This first BH Mg sheet alloy composed of only ubiquitous elements is highly attractive for application to automotive bodies. (C) 2018 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd.