Development of the Microstructure and Texture of RE Containing Magnesium Alloys during Hot Rolling

Abstract

Commercial magnesium alloys such as AZ31 exhibit strong crystallographic textures during massive deformation such as rolling. A randomisation of the texture, however, was found in alloys with rare earth (RE) elements in solid solution. This paper describes the development of microstructure and texture during rolling of the Al-free RE-containing wrought magnesium alloy ZEK100 during hot rolling. This alloy develops a strong texture with a pronounced component towards the transverse direction (TD) of the sheets. This TD component forms already after the first rolling pass, persists through all following passes and is further enhanced by subsequent heat treatment. These results are contrasted with results from a study on texture development of binary RE containing Mg-alloys, which show that the presence of RE elements alone is not responsible for the tilt of basal planes towards the TD. There is, however, a threshold concentration at which the texture begins to weaken.