Effect of ECAP on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Zn-0.5Ag-0.08Mg alloy

Zn-Ag alloys are recently regarded as highly promising biodegradable materials for medical applications, but they suffer from inferior mechanical properties. In this work, a Zn-0.5Ag-0.08Mg (wt.%) alloy with high strength and ductility was obtained by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP). Zn-0.5Ag-0.08Mg samples were ECAP processed for six different passes (1P, 2P, 3P, 4P, 8P, and 12P) to investigate the effect of ECAP on the microstructure and mechanical properties. Samples processed for 3P, 4P, 8P, and 12P exhibit mechanical properties satisfying the application requirements. The sample processed for 4P possesses the largest ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 388.1 MPa, accom-panied by an excellent elongation (EL) of 45.3%. The sample processed for 12P shows the best EL of 58.3%, along with a high UTS of 332.5 MPa. The high strength is attributed to grain boundary strengthening and dislocation strengthening. The high ductility is closely related to relatively weak texture, grain refinement, and twin boundary suppression.(c) 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

Zn-Ag alloys, a type of biodegradable material with potential medical applications, usually have inferior mechanical properties. In this study, a Zn-0.5Ag-0.08Mg alloy with high strength and ductility was obtained through equal channel angular pressing (ECAP). Different samples processed with ECAP for varying numbers of passes were evaluated for their microstructure and mechanical properties. The samples processed for 3P, 4P, 8P, and 12P exhibited mechanical properties that meet the application requirements, with the sample processed for 4P achieving the highest ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 388.1 MPa and excellent elongation (EL) of 45.3%.