Sequential activation of deformation modes in textured alloy AZ31B during tensile deformation

Sequential activation of deformation modes in a fiber-textured magnesium alloy AZ31B during tensile deformation was investigated through in-situ observation of microstructure evolution under EBSD. The results showed that initiation of deformation modes is asynchronous, texture has little effect on the activation sequence. Basal <a> slip is the mode activated first, and then{10-12} extension twinning and {10-11} contraction twinning. It is concluded that prismatic <a> and pyramidal <c+a> slips could be activated subsequently with basal slip. Kernal average misorientation (KAM) varies within individual grains indicating the inhomogeneity of the deformation. Slips are activated early inside small grains at the grain boundaries. The activation of most twin variants is SF-related. The activation of some non-SF-related twin variants can be explained in terms of strain accommodation parameter.