Investigation of deformation mechanisms in magnesium crystals

Although magnesium is the lightest structural metal and has a great potential to be utilized in lightweight constructions, e. g. in automotive engineering, the use of wrought magnesium alloys is limited due to, inter alia, a high mechanical anisotropy and poor room temperature formability. Against this background, understanding the underlying physical mechanisms and microstructural changes in the material during processing is crucial in order to overcome the difficulties associated with the limited ductility by innovative processing, microstructure and alloy design. To address these issues, model experiments on specifically grown single crystals were performed that permit a much clearer and forthright analysis compared to conventional polycrystal studies. The aim of these pioneering studies was to isolate and access specific mechanisms of plasticity and recrystallization in order to contribute to a holistic understanding of the deformation behavior, m icrostructure and texture evolution in Mg and its alloys.