Comparison of microstructure and properties of AZ31 Mg alloy sheet produced through different routes

Slabs fabricated by means of three different ingot breakdown modes: hot-rolling, extrusion-rolling and twin-roll strip continuous casting-cum-rolling, were rolled into sheets and then annealed. Both the rolled and annealed sheets were investigated by SEM-EBSP, BSE, X-ray diffraction and tensile test, and compared in terms of microstructure, texture, and mechanical properties. Effects of different processing methods on the microstructure, texture and the related mechanical properties were discussed based on the experimental results.