Processing of AZ31 magnesium alloy by a new noble severe plastic deformation method

In the present investigation a wrought magnesium alloy (AZ31) has been processed applying the accumulative back extrusion (ABE) method. This was performed through different thermomechanical processing routes (different ABE deformation passes at temperatures of 80-380 degrees C). The results indicate that AZ31 alloy may successfully be deformed through ABE processing even at temperatures as low as 80 degrees C. Following the ABE processing a sophisticated microhardness testing was conducted and thorough microstructural observations were undertaken using optical microscopy. The results show that the equiaxed submicron size grains have been achieved. As the number of passes was increased, a more homogeneous microstructure with finer mean grain size was obtained. It was also found that increasing the temperature resulted in larger mean grain size and also higher microstructural homogeneity. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.