Deformation behavior and texture randomization of Mg-Zn-Gd alloys reinforced with icosahedral quasicrystal

We report hot deformation behavior of icosahedral quasicrystalline phase reinforced Mg-1.50Zn-0.25Gd (at.%) alloys fabricated by a traditional gravity casting approach. The exponential law constitutive equation is applied to describe their flow stress behavior and the average activation energy is determined to be 187.70 kJ mol^-1. We also find that I-phase forms and grows in the alloys when the deformation strain is increasingly applied and that twinning contributes to high basal texture at early stage of deformation. Basal texture is weakened when the applied strain is strong owing to the dynamic recrystallization and also to the particle stimulation nucleation (PSN) effects of I-phase at late stage of deformation. High temperature is found to contribute to recrystallization but restrain I-phase precipitation and also weaken PSN effects of I-phase. Moreover, we find that a large strain rate not only promotes non-basal dislocation glide/twinning but also contributes to basal texture randomization, while a moderate strain rate is harmful for deformation due to the generation of strong basal texture. Furthermore, I-phase is found to be more effective for basal texture randomization than other strengthening secondary phases in Mg alloys, which is due to the presence of many orientation relationships and also because the interface between I-phase and Mg matrix is coherent or semi-coherent.