Thermal Stability of Nanocrystalline AZ31 Magnesium Alloy Fabricated by Surface Mechanical Attrition Treatment

摘要

A nanocrystalline layer(NL) was fabricated on the surface of AZ31 magnesium(Mg) alloy sheet by surface mechanical attrition treatment(SMAT). The microstructure of the Mg alloy was characterized by optical microscopy,X-ray diffraction and microhardness test. The results showed that both the microstructure and microhardness of AZ31 Mg alloy sheet after SMAT revealed a gradient distribution along depth from surface to center. The thermal stability of the NL was investigated through characterizing the microstructure evolution during the post-isothermal annealing treatment within the temperature range from 150 to 250 ℃. The NL exhibits a certain degree of thermal stability below 150 ℃, while it disappears quickly when annealing at the temperature range of 200–250 ℃. The grain growth kinetics of the nanocrystalline of AZ31 Mg alloy induced by SMAT was investigated. The activation energy of nanocrystalline AZ31 Mg alloy was obtained with a value of 92.8 k J/mol.