Improvement of Mechanical Properties of Magnesium Alloy ZK60 by Asymmetric Reduction Rolling

The improvement of mechanical properties of ZK60 processed by asymmetric reduction rolling (ARR) was investigated in this paper. The grain refinement and basal texture intensity decrease were attributed to the introduction of shear stress produced by ARR process. Compared to conventional symmetrical rolled (SR) ZK60 alloys, ARRed ZK60 exhibited finer, more homogeneous grains and higher mechanical properties. The intensity of basal texture of ARRed ZK60 after annealing was lower than that of SRed ZK60 after annealing. ZK60 sheet with good combination of strength and ductility could be obtained by ARR process. The yield strength (YS) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the ARRed ZK60 sheet were increased 150% and 91.3%, compared to those of SRed ZK60 sheet, from 80 to 200 MPa and from 140 to 264 MPa, respectively. Simultaneously, the elongation to failure increased by 68.75% in the ARR sheet (27%) when compared to that of the SR sheet (16%).