EUROPEAN CONGRESS AND EXHIBITION ON ADVANCED MATERIALS AND PROCESSES - EUROMAT 2021

In order to determine the activity of individual deformation mechanisms in a strongly textured magnesium alloy undergoing deformation, a combination of advanced in-situ and ex-situ methods was employed. Sets of samples with the orientations of normal direction (ND), rolling direction (RD), 45° between RD and ND and 30° between RD and transversal direction (TD) were machined from the rolled sheet of a commercial AZ31 alloy which exhibited a strong basal texture. Neutron diffraction spectra were collected at predefined strain levels both in the elastic and plastic regions of compressive deformation. Concurrently the signal of acoustic emission (AE) was measured. From the analysis of diffracted intensities it was revealed that the plastic deformation of the samples oriented favorably for it was governed by the {101 ̅2}〈101 ̅0〉 extension twinning while in the twinning-wise unfavorably oriented samples, various slip mechanisms played key roles. A consistent link between the energy and amplitudes of AE signals and the dominant deformation mechanisms was established. These conclusions were further supported by an analysis of the electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) patterns obtained during the in-situ measurement of the samples deformed in the scanning electron microscope chamber to corresponding levels of strain. A decisive role of the orientation of the textured samples with respect to the direction of applied load, determining the activation of individual deformation mechanisms, was confirmed. The Schmid factor analysis based on the EBSD experimental data provided further insight into the observed deformation behavior.