The recrystallization, texture and mechanical behavior of hot rolled and annealed Mg-10Ho binary alloy

The recrystallization, texture, and mechanical properties of hot-rolled and hot-rolled + annealed Mg-10Ho (wt %) are investigated. Mg-10Ho binary alloy is first solution treated followed by multipass rolling at 420 °C for up to 50 % reduction and subsequently annealed at 400 °C for different times for up to 60 min. The microstructure of deformed and annealed samples was characterized using a field-emission secondary electron microscope (FESEM) and electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) and the mechanical properties were examined using hardness and tensile tests. The as-rolled microstructure contains fine dynamic recrystallized grains and different types of deformation twins. With increasing annealing time, a decrease in the hardness was observed, suggesting initiation of recovery and static recrystallization. After 10 min of annealing, an equiaxed, nearly fully recrystallized microstructure with a grain size of 14 µm and weaker basal texture was obtained. This annealed sample exhibits an ultimate tensile strength of 213 MPa, yield strength of 145 MPa, and ductility of ∼7 %. Such an optimum combination of strength and ductility is attributed to the combined effect of solid solution strengthening, grain refinement, and texture weakening. Additionally, the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov (JMAK) model was used to understand the recrystallization kinetics of Mg-10Ho and compared it with that of Mg-10Y. Results indicate that the solute drag effect plays a dominant role in the faster recrystallization kinetics of Mg-10Ho alloy. Finally, the texture variation in Mg-10Ho and Mg-10Y is also explained based on the solute drag effect.