Retardation of grain growth in Mg–3Al–1Zn alloy processed by strip-casting method

Grain growth behaviors of the two AZ31 alloy sheets processed by slab- and strip-casting methods were examined and compared. Grain growth rate of the strip-casting processed AZ31 alloy was considerably lower than that of the slab-casting processed AZ31 alloy. The result could be ascribed to the presence of finer Al–Mn compound particles more uniformly and densely distributed in matrix of the strip-casting alloy. Low grain growth rate via effective Zener pinning of the Al–Mn particles notably improved tensile ductility of the AZ31 alloy at elevated temperatures.