Local Mechanical Properties of a Magnesium Hood Inner Component Formed at Elevated Temperature

There is considerable worldwide interest in magnesium (Mg) sheet as a replacement for heavier steel and aluminum alloys in vehicle closure components. As Mg gains acceptance in the automotive industry, there will be an increasing demand for accurate material properties for finite element simulations of Mg structures. In this paper, we investigate the extent to which average grain size and postformed tensile properties vary across a Mg AZ31B hood inner component formed at 485 degrees C for 20 min under a constant gas pressure. Tensile specimens were extracted from six regions of the hood inner, which underwent varying degrees of thinning. A state-of-the-art digital image correlation (DIC) algorithm and custom image acquisition software provided true stress-true strain data for each specimen. Tensile data acquired during room temperature testing was compared with that from baseline (undeformed) Mg AZ31B in a fully recrystallized condition (O-temper). Due to its importance in finite element simulations, particular emphasis was placed on the variation of postformed yield strength with specimen thickness and average grain size. Finally, we compute local strain fields during fracture in a tensile specimen with DIC grids positioned in the failure region.