Influence of texture on dynamic recrystallization and deformation mechanisms in rolled or ECAPed AZ31 magnesium alloy

Equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) and hot rolling are widely used processing routes in magnesium alloys. These routes induce different textures that affect their mechanical properties. In the present work, the influence of the texture on dynamic recrystallization (DRX) and deformation mechanisms was investigated. During tensile deformation at moderate temperatures, a stronger enhancement of DRX in rolled samples than in ECAPed samples is observed. Simultaneously, in both samples, texture evolves towards a deformation texture consisting of a basal fibre with directions (01 (1) over bar0) parallel to the tensile axis. The deformation delay for the start of DRX of ECAPed samples can be consistently related to the strain necessary to develop this fibre. It is assumed that the fibre texture stimulates DRX through the enhancement of multiple slip, which increases heterogeneities of the substructure. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.