Achieving fine grain structure and superplasticity in AZ91-0.4Sn magnesium alloy using short flow rolling process

We report a new rolling route combining one pass of hard-plate rolling and two passes of conventional rolling. This route is efficient in achieving near-spherical Mg17Al12 phase (~0.5 µm) and uniform fine-grained structure (~3 µm) featuring a weakened texture in AZ91-0.4Sn plates after a total thickness reduction of ~86.4% via 3 rolling passes. Moreover, the processed alloy exhibited superplasticity-like fracture strain of ~96% at 200 °C, owing to fine α-Mg grains distributed with a high volume fraction of Mg17Al12. This new route significantly reduces rolling passes and hence has a great potential for industrial production.