Unusual texture formation in Mg-3Al-1Zn alloy sheets processed by slope extrusion

A novel extrusion process, namely, slope extrusion (SE), was proposed to produce Mg-3Al-1Zn alloy sheet, thereby tailoring the strong basal texture of conventional extruded (CE) sheet. The grain morphology and texture were examined, and the tensile tests were performed along 0°, 45°, and 90° with extrusion direction. Moreover, the finite element simulation was performed to have a better understanding on the extrusion processes. An elongated weak double-peak texture titled from extrusion direction to transverse direction about 48° was obtained for the SE sheet and meanwhile the two peaks titled away from normal direction by ~ 35°. Therefore, the SE sheet showed lower yield strength and higher ductility compared with CE sheet. Especially, in terms of the transverse direction specimen of the SE sheet, the ductility reached 27.3%, which was considered as an excellent value for the wrought AZ31 sheet.