Role of {1 0–1 2} twinning and detwinning in the shock-hardening behavior of rolled Mg–3Al–1Zn alloy

Mg–3Al–1Zn alloy was subjected to shock loading along the rolling direction, and shock-deformed materials were reloaded. The reload yield stress was considerably lower than the flow stress of the as-annealed material compressed quasi-statically to an equivalent strain level, which is attributed to the apparent Bauschinger effect under shock-loading conditions. It is postulated here that the large Bauschinger effect in the present experiment is related to {1 0–1 2} tension twinning as the shock wave rises and to detwinning upon unloading.