Microstructural characterization of pure Mg and AZ31B processed by ECAE

Abstract Samples of 99.9% pure magnesium (Mg) and one of its common alloys, AZ31B, were processed using Equal Channel Angular Extrusion (ECAE) at 250 °C and 200 °C, respectively, and characterized using Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD). Both materials were found to have a largely uniform and homogeneous average grain size throughout the fully processed region of the bar, with AZ31B having a smaller average grain size, and grain size increasing slightly for both samples along the length of the bar, from back to front. Grain misorientation distribution plots display a peak around 30° associated with recrystallization. It was also found that both pure Mg and AZ31B obtained a basal fiber texture imparted by processing along the 4BC route, but pure Mg showed significant variations in the orientation of the basal poles and exhibited texturing of the prismatic plane in several instances.