Influence of Continuous Bending Process on Texture Evolution and Mechanical Properties of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy

Mg–3Al–1Zn alloy sheets have been deformed by continuous bending (CB) to investigate the effects of processing parameters (bending angle and repetitive passes) on the texture and formability. The samples exhibited a bimodal microstructure with abnormal growth grains in the surface region and fine grains distributed in the center after CB process followed by annealing. The texture evolution measured by XRD indicated that the basal poles were rotated from ND toward RD, and the texture intensity decreased with the bending angle decreasing and repetitive passes increasing. Compared with the as-received sample, the yield strength of CBA-120-2 sample significantly decreased from 183 to 112 MPa, and a smaller r-value and a larger n-value were obtained. The formability of CB processed samples in annealing condition was significantly enhanced with the highest of Erichsen value of 5.4 mm, increased by about 135%. The improvement of formability was likely attributed to the weakened and RD-tilt basal texture and coarse grains in the surface part.