Press formability of a rolled AZ31 Mg alloy sheet with controlled texture

Rolling was carried out on AZ31 Mg alloy with two rolling ways; Route A where each rolling direction changed at 90° and Route B where the rolling direction was always the same, and the Erichsen tests were conducted at 493, 513 and 533 K to evaluate influence of texture on the press formability of the rolled Mg alloy sheets. As a result of the Erichsen tests, the Erichsen values at 493 and 513 K for the Route A specimen were larger by a factor of 1.6 than those for the Route B. Thus, the press formability of rolled Mg sheets was improved due to texture control by change of the rolling direction. On the other hand, the Erichsen value at 533 K for the Route A specimen was almost the same as that for the Route B specimen. Therefore, it is likely that the texture control has more effect on the press formability at lower temperature.