Influence of extrusion method on the microstructure and mechanical properties of formed magnesium alloy tubes

Abstract

In this study, a tube extrusion-shear-expand (TESE) process is proposed for the preparation of thin-walled tubes of high-performance magnesium alloys, and a comparison with direct extrusion(DE) is used to verify the superiority of the new process. Numerical simulations of the mesh variation, forming load, and equivalent strain during the forming of magnesium alloy tubes were carried out in combination with DEFORM-3D software. The results of the study show that: under the TESE process, the equivalent strain and the forming load are larger, which makes the plastic deformation of the tube larger; the grain refinement effect of the tube prepared under the TESE process is more obvious than that of the DE; the yield strength of the tube under the TESE process is about 293MPa, the elongation is about 15%, and the base structure dispersion is higher under the dynamic recrystallization and larger shear effect, the strength is obviously weakened, and the comprehensive performance of magnesium alloy tube is improved.