Mechanism of Dynamic Recrystallization and Evolution of Texture in the Hot Working Domains of the Processing Map for Mg-4Al-2Ba-2Ca Alloy

The occurrence of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) and its effect on the evolution of texture during uniaxial compression of a creep-resistant cast Mg-4Al-2Ba-2Ca alloy in the temperature range of 260-500 °C and strain rate range of 0.0003-10 s^-1 has been studied using transmission electron microscopy and electron backscatter diffraction techniques with a view to understand its mechanism. For this purpose, a processing map has been developed for this alloy, which revealed two domains of DRX in the temperature and strain rate ranges of: (1) 300-390 °C/0.0003-0.001 s^-1 and (2) 400-500 °C/0.0003-0.5 s^-1. In Domain 1, DRX occurs by basal slip and recovery by dislocation climb, as indicated by the presence of planar slip bands and high dislocation density leading to tilt boundary formation and a low-intensity basal texture. On the other hand, DRX in Domain 2 occurs by second order pyramidal slip and recovery by cross-slip since the microstructure revealed tangled dislocation structure with twist boundaries and randomized texture. The high volume content of intermetallic phases Mg₂₁Al₃Ba₂ and (Al,Mg)₂Ca eutectic phase is considered to be responsible for the observed hot deformation behavior.