Variant selection of {10-12}-{10-12} double twins during the tensile deformation of an AZ31 Mg alloy

Multiple primary {101¯2} twins were generated when samples of a hot-rolled AZ31 alloy plate were deformed in tension along the normal direction. Secondary {101¯2} twins also formed within the wider primary twins (PTs). Most of the secondary twins (STs) were located at the intersections of two PTs. The crystallographic orientation relationships (ORs) between 34 STs and their host PTs were analyzed. Although ten different ORs have the potential to form, only two were observed. Here 28 of the STs had misorientations of 49.7°<9¯094¯> with respect to their hosts. The observed variant selection is explained in terms of strain accommodation by basal glide in the host PT.