Enhancement of tensile ductility and stretch formability of magnesium by addition of 0.2 wt%(0.035 at%)Ce

Mg-0.2 wt%(0.035 at.%)Ce alloy was hot-rolled and its mechanical properties were investigated by conducting tensile and Erichsen tests at room temperature and 433 K. The rolled Mg-Ce alloy exhibited greater elongation to failure and higher stretch formability than the rolled pure Mg. This was attributed to a reduction in basal texture intensity and the splitting of the basal plane by the addition of a small amount of Ce (0.2 wt%). Also, the small amount of Ce strongly affected the recrystallization behavior during hot rolling. Microstructual observation revealed that the Prismatic slip was activated in the Mg-Ce alloy. The enhancement of the non-basal slip by the addition of Ce was not attributed to a reduction in the c/a ratio. An increase in stacking fault energy due to the addition of Ce is suggested to play a vital role in the activation of the non-basal slip. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.