This paper presents the work-hardening behaviors of a rolled AZ31B magnesium alloy sheet during in-plane cyclic loading. The overall trend of the stress–strain curve was as follows. As established before, the yield stress under compression was considerably less than that under tension, and an inflected shape was observed in the stress–strain curve during the subsequent tension. Furthermore, an asymmetric evolution of work-hardening was observed as follows. The rate of work-hardening in the late stage of compression became gradually large with an increase in the number of cycles. Owing to this increase in the rate of work-hardening, the stress at the end of compression increased as the number of cycles increased. On the other hand, the rate of work-hardening in the late stage of tension became small as the number of cycles increased, yielding a decrease in the stress at the end of tension with the increase in the number of cycles. The results were almost the same when the cyclic loading test was carried out after tensile strain was applied to the sheet. On the other hand, when the cyclic loading test was carried out after compressive strain was applied, the increase in the rate of work-hardening in the late stage of compression was significantly more pronounced, whereas the inflected shape of the curve during tension was considerably less pronounced. The mechanisms of the above macroscopic behaviors were investigated in terms of twinning.
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