Microstructural evolution and flow behaviour in hot compression of as-extruded Mg–Gd–Nd–Zn–Zr alloy

ABSTRACT

Hot deformation behaviour of as-extruded Mg–5Gd–2.5Nd–0.5Zn–0.5Zr alloy was investigated using compression test at a temperature range of 350–500°C and strain rates of 0.001–1 s⁻¹. Microstructural evolution of cast and homogenised alloy following high-temperature deformation was captured by optical and scanning electron microscopy. Energy dispersive spectrometer results indicated that cast and homogenised samples consisted of eutectic compositions were mainly enriched in Nd and Gd. The flow stress was fairly well fitted by the hyperbolic sine equation where the calculated average activation energy was 297.81 kJ/mol. Hot deformation of the alloy was strongly affected by the high rare-earth metal (RE) constituent, and manifested by twining phenomenon at a temperature below 350°C and by dynamic recrystallization (DRX) and DRX-second phase interaction above 350°C.

KEYWORDS:

• Magnesium alloy
• rare earth metals
• constitutive equations
• hot deformation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The raw/processed data required to reproduce these findings cannot be shared at this time as the data also forms part of an ongoing study.