Thermomechanical response of Mg AZ31 at different levels of temperatures and strain rates

¹ Department of Civil Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah 26666, UAE
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah 26666, UAE

^* Corresponding author: fabed@aus.edu

Abstract

Magnesium alloys’ mechanical behavior has received increasing attention because of its high strength to weight ratio making them ideal for various industrial applications, such as vehicle components, transportation and aerospace. The objective of this work is to closely investigate the thermo-mechanical properties of magnesium alloy AZ31 at different strain rates and temperatures. Tensile tests are conducted on a 30 mm gauge length MgAZ31 specimens at two quasi-static strain rates (1.11x10⁻³ s⁻¹ and 0.28 s⁻¹) at a range of temperatures between 25 ºC and 250 ºC. Digital Image Correlation (DIC) system was used to calculate the true strain and provide quantitative assessment of the localized deformation response at high levels of deformation. The stress-strain responses of MgAZ31 show that the yield stress as well as the ultimate stress decreases as temperature increases and strain rate decreases. Moreover, the difference between the yield and ultimate stresses at both strain rates increases rapidly as temperature increases. The material shows a significant increase in ductility as temperature increases while the modulus of elasticity remains independent of change in strain rates.