Solid solution and precipitation strengthening effects in basal slip, extension twinning and pyramidal slip in Mg-Zn alloys

TL;DR

This study introduces a high-throughput method combining diffusion couples and nanomechanical testing to measure how alloying elements like Zn affect different deformation modes in Mg alloys, revealing the effects of solid solution and precipitates.

Contribution

It provides a novel methodology to directly assess alloying effects on deformation mechanisms in Mg alloys, distinguishing between solid solution and precipitate strengthening.

Findings

Precipitates significantly increase CRSS for basal slip and twinning.

Solid solution Zn has a smaller effect on pyramidal slip.

Precipitation reduces anisotropy ratios in Mg-Zn alloys.

Abstract

A high-throughput methodology is proposed, based on the combination of diffusion couples and advanced nanomechanical testing methods, to directly measure alloying effects on the critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) of individual deformation modes in Mg alloys. The methodology is tested in Mg-Zn alloys by assessing the alloying effects, up to Zn contents of 2 at.%, on basal slip, extension twining and pyramidal slip in two metallurgical condition: as-quenched, for which the Zn solute atoms remain homogenously dispersed in solid solution; and peak-aged, for which the Zn atoms form rod-shape $MgZn_{2}$ precipitates. A combined approach including micromechanical testing, transmission Kikuchi diffraction, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy was performed to reveal the corresponding deformation mechanisms. It was found that the CRSS enhancement for basal slip and extension twinning by $MgZn_{2}$ precipitates is considerably larger than the effect of Zn in solid solution, while the strengthening of pyramidal slip is similar in both cases. As a result, the anisotropy ratios remain high and similar to pure Mg in the solid solution strengthened Mg-Zn alloys. However, they are substantially reduced in precipitation strengthened Mg-Zn alloys.