Texture development and its effect on mechanical properties of an AZ61 Mg alloy fabricated by equal channel angular pressing

Microstructure and texture development of an AZ61 Mg alloy during equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) was investigated and correlated with the mechanical properties. The microstructure was effectively refined by ECAP, and the original fiber texture of the extruded AZ61 alloy was disintegrated and a new texture was gradually developed by repetitive ECAP pressing. After 8 ECAP passes following route B,, the yield stress is lower than for the as-extruded AZ61 alloy, indicating that the texture softening is dominant over the strengthening due to grain refinement. When route A was used, on the other hand, the yield stress slightly increased after 8 passes. This result is primarily due to a difference in texture. The dominant textures after 8 passes were (10 (1) over bar1) [0 (1) over bar 11] +(10 (1) over bar2) [(1) over bar2 (1) over bar0] and (10 (1) over bar2) [(1) over bar2 (1) over bar0] when processed by route B(c) and route A, respectively. Tensile ductility increased after ECAP and the effect of ECAP on ductility is more remarkable when the initial grain size is large. (C) 2003 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.