Effect of extrusion processing parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties of as-extruded AZ31 sheets

The AZ31 sheets were prepared by extrusion. The effects of the extrusion processing parameters including the temperature, extrusion ratio, and structure of the extrusion die on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the as-extruded AZ31 sheets were investigated. The results show that the partial grains grow abnormally and the mechanical and anisotropic properties of the as-extruded AZ31 sheets have little change at the extrusion temperatures of 380–400 °C and the extrusion ratio of 13.3. With the increase of the extrusion ratio, the microstructure of the as-extruded AZ31 sheets by conventional die becomes finer and more uniform, and the elongation rate increases, but the strength decreases and its anisotropy becomes worse. Under the porthole die, finer and more uniform microstructure, higher mechanical properties and better anisotropy can be brought for the as-extruded AZ31 sheets. The extruded AZ31 sheets by the porthole die have better anneal process of 300°C and 1 h.