Creep as an extension of hot working: A unified approach to high temperature deformation of AZ31 alloy

A detailed analysis of the data obtained in several studies investigating either the hot workability or the creep response of AZ31 was carried out in the present work. This analysis demonstrated that the behaviour of this hcp Mg–Al alloy follows, in general terms, the same well known scheme typical of fcc Al–Mg alloys. The existence of two well defined regimes, the first characterized by an n = 3 stress exponent, and the second described by a modified form of the Garofalo equation, closely mirrors the transition from viscous-glide to climb as rate controlling mechanisms, typical of class A materials. The fact that all the data, irrespective of the used experimental technique and testing temperature, obey the same laws, is a clear indication that hot working is an extension of creep, and that both phenomena are driven by essentially the same mechanisms.