Characterization of microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of the spray-deposited AZ31 magnesium alloy

The cylindrical billets of a Mg-3Al-1Zn (AZ31) alloy were synthesized by spray deposition processing. The microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of the alloy were investigated. The results reveal that the microstructure of the AZ31 alloy is refined significantly by spray deposition processing. A homogeneous and equiaxial-grain structure with an average grain size of 17 μm is obtained. Further grain refinement with an average grain size of 5 μm is attributed to dynamic recrystallization during extrusion processing. The great increase in the density of grain boundary nucleation sites by the finer initial grain sizes makes the dislocation pile-ups near subgrain boundaries being absorbed easily by the boundaries, resulting in an accelerated recrystallization process. The average tensile ultimate and yield strengths of the extruded rods are 321 MPa and 237 MPa, respectively, with an elongation of 15.2% at room temperature, which are remarkably higher than those of the conventional as-cast AZ31 alloy.