The Influence of Strain Path on Rare Earth Recrystallization Textures in a Magnesium-Zinc-Rare Earth Alloy

In this study, the effect of strain path on texture evolution during cold rolled and annealing of hot rolled Mg-Zn-Rare-Earth (RE) alloy (ZEK100) sheet has been investigated. Strain path during cold rolling has been varied by changing rolling direction with respect to the original hot rolling (HR) direction of the sheet. Cold rolling either parallel or perpendicular to the HR direction leads to spread and split of basal poles in the transverse direction (TD) during annealing, characteristic of Mg-Zn-RE alloys. However, when the sheet is continuously rotated between cold rolling passes, this texture spread is not produced. It is demonstrated that a change in dislocation activity, as predicted by crystal plasticity modeling, cannot explain the unusual textures developed in Mg-Zn-RE alloys. Instead, the role of strain path in determining shear band evolution is considered to be critical. When shear bands are suppressed by continuously rotating the specimen, the distinct Zn-RE texture is not produced. Furthermore, it is demonstrated the dominance of the TD spread grains emerges gradually during recrystallization, leading to the final observed texture.