Effect of Crystallographic Orientations on Bendability in a Strongly Textured Mg-9Al Extrusion Plate and Texture Evolution during Three-Point Bending

The dependence of bendability on crystallographic orientations and texture evolution was investigated in a strongly textured Mg-9Al extrusion plate by bending along four directions. Results show that the bars have relatively small and reasonably close bendability when bent along the extrusion direction, transverse direction, and through-thickness direction. In contrast, the bendability of the 45° bar is much larger. Microstructure examination indicates that twins are prevalent in all bars. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of deformation mechanisms suggests that the initial texture transforms towards a basal texture during bending. Nevertheless, the texture transformation efficiency is drastically lower when basal slip—in contrast to tensile twinning—is the dominant deformation mechanism. The difference in texture evolution efficiency was used to rationalize the varied bendability along different directions. The findings of this provide insights into improving the bendability of magnesium alloys.