Effect of prior strain on continuous recrystallization in AZ31 magnesium alloy after hot deformation

► Annealing of Mg alloy hot deformed to various strains. ► Ultrafine grains evolved partially or fully by continuous dynamic recrystallization. ► Grain coarsening takes place in three stages irrespective of the different microstructures. ► The annealing process can be primarily controlled by continuous static recrystallization.