Twinning-induced anisotropy of mechanical response of AZ31B extruded rods

Texture and twinning-induced anisotropy of the yield stress and hardening of AZ31B extruded rods is investigated. The multidirectional compression tests involving strain path changes are performed in order to: I. assess which slip and twinning systems are active in the polycrystalline sample with a strong texture, IL analyze the Influence of the preliminary deformation upon twin formation, ill. observe the resulting change of the mechanical response. In order to fulfil these goals mechanical testing is supplemented by microstructure analysis. Experimental observations are used to validate the proposed crystal plasticity framework when it is combined with the viscoplastic self-consistent scheme. On the other hand, the results of numerical simulations are used to confirm an advocated interpretation of experimental findings. Finally, the experimental and numerical results are discussed with respect to the theoretical study of slip and twinning activity on the basis of the generalized Schmid criterion. It is concluded that twinning activity influences the mechanical response predominantly by the texture change and to lesser extent by modification of strain hardening due to slip-twin interactions.