Influence of electropulsing treatment on microstructure evolution and properties of ZK60 alloy sheets

Abstract:

As a new method, electropulsing treatment has a great impact on microstructure and properties of metallic meterials. In the present paper, the microstructure evolution of rolled ZK60 alloy was investigated by optical microscope (OM) and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD). The properties were evaluated by tensile testing at room temperature. The complete recrystallization was liable to occur when the deformed ZK60 magnesium alloy sheets were treated by electropulsing in comparison with heat treatment. After electropusling treatment for 10min, the recrystallization grains with the average size of 3μm were obtained. The tensile stress of ZK60 alloy was improved to 310MPa and the tensile elongation was increased to 30.7%. However, the incomplete recrystallization occured in rolled ZK60 alloy which was treated by heat treatment with the same processing time. The electropulsing enhanced the nucleation rate of recrystallization for rolled ZK60 alloy and then accelerated the process of recrystallization.

Key words:ZK60 magnesium alloy; electropulsing treatment; recrystallization, nuocleation