Abnormally large grains have been observed in Al-Mg alloy AA5182 sheet material after forming at elevated temperature, and the reduced yield strength that results is a practical problem for commercial hot-forming operations. The process by which abnormal grains are produced is investigated through controlled hot tensile testing to reproduce the microstructures of interest. Abnormal grains are shown to develop strictly during static annealing or cooling following hot deformation; the formation of abnormal grains is suppressed during plastic straining. Abnormal grains grow by static abnormal grain growth (SAGG), which becomes a discontinuous recrystallization process when abnormal grains meet to form a fully recrystallized microstructure. Nuclei, which grow under SAGG, are produced during hot deformation by the geometric dynamic recrystallization (GDRX) process. The mechanism through which a normally continuous recrystallization process, GDRX, may be interrupted by a discontinuous process, SAGG, is discussed.

Accurate prediction of strain fields and cycle times for fine-grained Mg alloy sheet forming at high temperatures (400-500°C) is severely limited by a lack of accurate material constitutive models. This paper details an important first step toward addressing this issue by evaluating material constitutive models, developed from tensile data, for high-temperature plasticity of a fine-grained Mg AZ31 sheet material. The finite element method was used to simulate gas pressure bulge forming experiments at 450°C using four constant gas pressures. The applicability of the material constitutive models to a balanced-biaxial stress state was evaluated through comparison of simulation results with bulge forming data. Simulations based upon a phenomenological material constitutive model developed using data from both tensile elongation and strain-rate-change experiments were found to be in favorable accord with experiments. These results provide new insights specific to the construction and use of material constitutive models for hot deformation of wrought, fine-grained Mg alloys.

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