Effects of Zn on < c plus a > slip and grain boundary segregation of Mg alloys

Abstract

Using atomistic simulations, we investigated the effects of Zn on Mg alloys to reveal the mechanism underlying the good ductility and strong basal texture of Mg-Zn solid solutions at room temperature. We found that Zn can activate < c + a > slip by reducing critical resolved shear stress anisotropy among slip systems that improves ductility and that Zn has a low grain boundary segregation tendency. Because twinning and recrystallization, which have decisive effects on the texture evolution, will not be affected significantly due to the low segregation of Zn, Mg-Zn alloys are expected to yield a texture similar to that of pure Mg. (C) 2018 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.