The quasi-static mechanical properties of extruded binary Mg-Er alloys

The binary Mg-Er alloys with respective concentration of 2.0 wt%Er, 4.0 wt%Er and 6.0 wt%Er were prepared via extruding and annealing, and their quasi-static mechanical properties were investigated. It was found that after complete recrystallization, the Rear Earth-texture (RE-texture) develops with Er incremental addition. Under both the tensile and compressive loadings, Mg-4.0 wt%Er and Mg-6.0 wt%Er alloys had flow stresses lower than that of Mg-2.0 wt%Er alloy. However, their ductility was higher than that of Mg-2.0 wt%Er alloy. The elongation and reduction of Mg-6.0 wt%Er alloy reached to 29.4% and 42.3%, respectively, much higher than the usual elongation and reduction of pure magnesium. The dependence of the mechanical properties on Er addition could be interpreted by the RE-texture development and the reduction of the c/a axial ratio allowing for the activation of the additional plastic deformation modes. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.