Abstract:The relationship between microstructure and tensile behaviors of fatigued AZ31 magnesium alloy was investigated. Axial fatigue tests were performed on PLG-100 fatigue machine at stresses of 50 and 90 MPa. Tensile samples were cut from the fatigued samples, named as L-sample and H-sample respectively, and the O-sample was cut from original rolled AZ31 alloy. The EBSD and TEM were used to characterize the microstructure. It is found that the twinning-detwinning was the main deformation mechanism in high stress fatigue test, while dislocation slipping was dominant in low stress fatigue test. After fatigue tests, the average grain size of the L-sample and H-sample decreased to 4.71 and 5.33 μm, and the tensile and yield strength of the L-sample and H-sample increased slightly. By analyzing SEM images, the ultimate fracture region of the L-sample consisted of dimples, while there were many microvoids in the ultimate fracture region of the H-sample. Consequently, the tensile behaviors of fatigued magnesium have a close relationship with microstructure.

Key words: AZ31 magnesium alloy; fatigue; tensile mechanical properties; fracture morphology; microstructure