Size Effects on the Mechanical Responses and Deformation Mechanisms of AZ31 Mg Foils

An integrated experimental and microstructure-based simulation research was carried out to study the effect of thickness and grain size on the mechanical response and deformation mechanism of AZ31 Mg foils. Equal channel angle pressing (ECAP) and subsequent annealing were applied to fabricate the billets with tailored microstructures. Ex situ micro-tensile tests of the foils were conducted to explore the meso-scale size effect. The experimental results show that the flow stress, ductility, and microstructure evolution of the foils are significantly affected by both grain size and thickness. With the increase of grain number (λ) in thickness, the flow stress curve changes from convex-up to a typical sigmoidal shape, and the extension twinning is remarkably suppressed. Full-field crystal plasticity simulations successfully captured the micromechanical interaction between dislocation slip and twinning. Specifically, the decrease of λ enhances the dominance of extension twinning on the mechanical response and ductility of the foils and further intensifies the interaction of deformation twinning on slip resistance. As a measurement for describing the combined effect of grain size and geometrical size, λ is a critical factor affecting the interaction and competition between dislocation slip and deformation twinning.