Effect of thermo-electropulsing rolling on mechanical properties and microstructure of AZ31 magnesium alloy

Thermo-electropulsing rolling process (TER), a novel technique by combining the methods of electropulsing with warm rolling process, was created to manufacture AZ31 magnesium alloy strips, and the effects of both warm rolling process (WR) and TER on mechanical properties and microstructure of AZ31 magnesium were also studied and compared in the current study. The results indicated that WR tended to decrease the elongation to failure of the samples compared with that of the raw sample, while TER tended to increase the elongation. With an increase in the pass reduction, the elongation of samples under WR decreased, while that of TER increased. During WR, only twins were induced in the AZ31 alloy, while TER substantially induced recrystallization (DRX). The coupling of the thermal and athermal effects in electropulsing tended to accelerate the movement of the dislocation and the diffusion of the vacancy, which facilitated to the completion of DRX at a relatively low temperature under TER.

► Thermo-electropulsing rolling process (TER), a novel technique was created. ► TER increased the elongation to failure (EL) of the sample compared with raw sample. ► With an increase in the pass reduction, the EL of samples under TER increased. ► When temperature was 423 K, TER induced recrystallization while warm rolling did not.