A review on cyclic plasticity, damage, and fatigue failure of magnesium alloys

Magnesium (Mg) alloys, known for their low density and high specific strength, are widely used in the lightweight design of engineering structures. However, their complex mechanical behaviors, particularly including the cyclic plasticity, damage, and fatigue failure influenced by dislocation slipping, twinning, detwinning, and their interactions, present significant challenges in ensuring the safety and reliability of Mg alloy components. Addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive understanding of such behaviors and their underlying micro-mechanisms, and the development of reliable constitutive models, damage models, and fatigue life prediction methods. This review highlights recent advancements in these topics by elaborating particularly on the intricate connections between the macroscopic plastic deformation and microscopic mechanisms of Mg alloys, and the initiation and propagation of microcracks and microvoids observed through experimental studies and numerical simulations. We also discuss the progress in the theoretical models that predict the cyclic plasticity and/or fatigue life of Mg alloys. Finally, some topics for future research are suggested.