Ultrafine grain formation in Mg–Zn alloy by in situ precipitation during high-pressure torsion

A ultrafine-grained structure was produced in a Mg–3.4Zn (at.%) alloy subjected to high-pressure torsion (HPT) at ambient temperature. Hardness and X-ray diffraction measurements indicated the microstructure reached a steady state after three revolutions. Transmission electron microscopy observations showed equiaxed, dynamically recrystallized grains with an average diameter of 140 nm after 20 revolutions, substantially less than the steady-state grain size in pure Mg deformed by HPT. This is attributed to the formation of precipitates during processing, which impedes the growth of recrystallized grains.