Enhancement of tensile ductility and stretch formability of magnesium by addition of 0.2 wt%(0.035 at%)Ce

Mg–0.2 wt%(0.035 at.%)Ce alloy was hot-rolled and its mechanical properties were investigated by conducting tensile and Erichsen tests at room temperature and 433 K. The rolled Mg–Ce alloy exhibited greater elongation to failure and higher stretch formability than the rolled pure Mg. This was attributed to a reduction in basal texture intensity and the splitting of the basal plane by the addition of a small amount of Ce (0.2 wt%). Also, the small amount of Ce strongly affected the recrystallization behavior during hot rolling. Microstructural observation revealed that the prismatic slip was activated in the Mg–Ce alloy. The enhancement of the non-basal slip by the addition of Ce was not attributed to a reduction in the c/a ratio. An increase in stacking fault energy due to the addition of Ce is suggested to play a vital role in the activation of the non-basal slip.