The effect of extrusion conditions on the properties and textures of AZ31B alloy

The effect of extrusion conditions on the tensile properties and texture of AZ31B alloy has been investigated by means of optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) and tensile tests. It is found that the ultimate tensile strength (UTS), the yield strength (YS) and elongation (EN) of the extruded AZ31B alloy are more significantly influenced by extrusion velocities in contrast with temperature. Although the extrusion conditions are different, the {112¯0} 〈011¯0〉 texture is the chief texture in the AZ31B after extrusion. Moreover, the extrusion textures become scattered with increasing the temperatures at the same extrusion velocity. As the extrusion velocity is raised at the same temperature, the orientation density of textures increases and the separated textures become relatively concentrated. This leads to the changes of tensile properties at different extrusion conditions.