Enhanced deformation mechanisms by anisotropic plasticity in polycrystalline Mg alloys at room temperature

This article presents room-temperature deformation mechanisms in polycrystalline Mg alloys. Dislocation slip of basal < a > and prismatic < a > types are shown to occur nearly at the same ease when the basal planes are tilted in such a way that the Schmid-factor ratio (equivalent to the critically resolved shear stress (CRSS) ratio) of prismatic < a > to basal < a > slip is larger than a value ranging from 1.5 to 2.0, depending on the initial texture distribution and grain size. Grain-boundary sliding (GBS) also occurs at room temperature up to 8 pct of total strain, enhanced by plastic anisotropy as well as by the increasing number of grain-boundary dislocations. Twinning plays an important role in both flow and fracture behaviors. Twins are induced mostly by stress concentrations caused by the anisotropic nature of dislocation slip. Twins can be classified into two types based on their shape: a wide lenticular type and a narrow banded type. The wide twins are {1 0(1) over bar 2} twins appearing in the early stage of deformation and accompany little change of surface height. The narrow twins are {1 0(1) over bar 1} or {3 0(3) over bar 2} appearing in the late stage of deformation and accompany a substantial change in surface height. The formation of the narrow twins seems to give rise to highly localized shear deformation within the twin, leading to strain incompatibility and to final failure.