Development of Textures and Microstructures during Compression in a Hot-Extruded AZ31 Mg Alloy

The development of textures and microstructures during plastic deformation in a hot-extruded AZ 31 Mg alloy was investigated using a compression test with such parameters as deformation temperature, strain rate. It was observed from true stress-strain curves that twinning involves changes of the flow stresses. In the early stages of deformation at temperatures lower than 200 C, the occurrence of twins resulted in a decrease of the work-hardening rate, which increased drastically at a true strain of -0.05. The evolution of the deformation textures were assessed with the aid of EBSD analyses in terms of the competition between twinning and slip activity.