The beneficial effect of AgIn addition on deformation behavior, microstructure and texture in Mg–Al–Zn alloy during single pass warm rolling

• The rolling texture of alloy-1 Mg–3Al–1Zn was significantly stronger that of alloy-2 Mg–3Al–1Zn–(AgIn).
• Contraction twinning was the predominant deformation mode in alloy-1.
• Activation of larger number of deformation modes and enhanced extension twinning in alloy-2.

In this study microstructure, texture and deformation behavior of Mg–3Al–1Zn (alloy-1) and Mg–3Al–1Zn–0.5AgIn (alloy-2) were investigated. The alloys were subjected to single pass thickness reductions of 30%, 50% and 60% at 300 °C (573 K) followed by annealing at 400 °C (673 K). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray based macro-texture, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron backscatter diffraction analysis (EBSD) were performed to investigate the effect of AgIn addition on deformation and annealing behavior. A silver-containing second phase in the form of fine precipitates was observed in alloy-2 during rolling which remained thermally stable during subsequent annealing. An ultrafine microstructure was observed for alloy-2 in comparison to alloy-1 after rolling. EBSD based Schmid factor (SF) analysis revealed a significant contribution of extension twinning, basal slip, pyramidal 〈c + a〉 slip and prismatic slip in alloy-2. In contrast, contraction twinning was the predominant deformation mode in alloy-1. The combined activity of larger number of deformation modes resulted in improved formability, refined microstructure and a weak deformation texture in alloy-2. The improved rolling response was mainly attributed to the combined contribution of multi deformation modes.

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