Abstract to be submitted to the 24th Canadian Materials Science Conference (CMSC-24), University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada, June

6-8, 2012

Effect of Sample Orientation on Strain Hardening Behavior of an Extruded Magnesium Alloy During Uniaxial Compression D. Sarker, D.L. Chen Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario M5B 2K3, Canada

Magnesium alloys, as the lightest metallic material, are currently being intensively studied mainly for the structural applications in the transportation industry to reduce vehicle weight and increase fuel efficiency. However, their widespread applications are impeded because of their poor room temperature ductility and strong plastic anisotropy due to the hexagonal close-packed (hcp) structure. The anisotropy of mechanical properties is mainly due to the development of a strong crystallographic texture during plastic deformation (rolling or extrusion). Generally the rolled/extruded magnesium alloys exhibit a strong basal texture with most basal planes aligned parallel to the rolling/extrusion direction. In the present study, the strain hardening behavior and texture evolution of a recently-developed extruded AM30 magnesium alloy have been studied in compression at varying strain levels. The extruded alloy had a strong basal texture along the extrusion direction. Uniaxial compression tests were performed at room temperature on samples oriented parallel to the extrusion (ED), transverse (TD) and normal (ND) directions. A stage of accelerated strain hardening characterized by an increasing strain hardening rate was observed on representative stress-strain curves especially for samples having a compression axis parallel to the extrusion direction. It was also observed that the formation of extension twinning was dependent on sample orientation. Details will be presented.