Comparison on crack propagation under tension at 150 °C of Mg-2Zn-1.5Mn alloy sheets with and without crack notch

Generally, edge crack of rolled magnesium alloy sheets initiates in the RD (rolling direction)-ND (normal direction) plane and then propagate in the RD-TD (transverse direction) plane. Hence, the Mg-2Zn-1.5Mn (ZM21) alloy sheets with and without crack notch were designed to carry out in-situ tensile experiments under 150 & DEG;C (the same temperature of rolling), with the aim to understand their crack propagation mechanism. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) techniques were utilized to reveal microstructural evolution in real time at designated displacements. The results show that the prismatic slip, basal slip, and extension twining play synergistic role in coordinating strain during the tensile process in ZM21 alloy sheet at 150 & DEG;C. In both tensile samples with and without crack notch, localized strain is mainly concentrated at relatively fine grain area and the grain boundaries or triple junctions of the grains with large basal Schmid factor (SF) difference, which eventually leads to severe surface roughening and subsequent crack initiation. Compared with the sample without crack notch, the pre-cracked sample exhibits severer deformation at the crack tip due to strain concentration. Strain gradient distribution is observed at the crack tip region in the pre-cracked sample. The crack propagation path of the sample with pre-crack is identified and the underlying mechanism is also discussed.& COPY; 2022 Chongqing University. Publishing services provided by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ) Peer review under responsibility of Chongqing University

Automated summary

By conducting in-situ tensile experiments at 150°C, the crack propagation mechanism of magnesium alloy sheets was studied. It was found that at 150°C, the prismatic slip, basal slip, and extension twining synergistically coordinate strain in the ZM21 alloy sheet, leading to localized strain concentration at fine grain areas and grain boundaries or triple junctions. This results in severe surface roughening and crack initiation, with the pre-cracked sample exhibiting more severe deformation at the crack tip due to strain concentration.