Influence of temperature and plastic relaxation on tensile twinning in a magnesium alloy

The present study shows that over the temperature range 25-200 degrees C, {10 (1) over bar 2} tensile twinning during compression of extruded Mg-3Al-1Zn alloy to strains of 1.4% maintains a constant volume fraction but that there are lesser amounts of twin nucleation and greater amounts of twin growth as the temperature rises. The increase in growth-i.e. enhanced twin thickening-is rationalized in terms of the dislocation-mediated relaxation of the misfit back-stress. (C) 2013 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.