Revealing the role of pyramidal slip in the high ductility of Mg-Li alloy

The high ductility of Mg-Li alloy has been mainly ascribed to a high activity of pyramidal slip to accommodate plastic strain. In the present study, however, a quantitative analysis reveals that Li-addition can only slightly stimulate the activation of pyramidal slip under compression along the normal direction of a hot-rolled Mg-4.5 wt.% Li plate, with a relative activity of approximately 18%. Although the limited activity of pyramidal slip alone cannot accommodate a large plastic strain, it effectively reduces the number of {101¯1}−{101¯2} double twins, which are believed to be favorable sites for crack initiation. The evidently reduced activity of double twins leads to a lower cracking tendency, and therefore improves ductility.