Fracture Toughness in Ultra Fine-Grained Magnesium Alloy

Abstract
The fracture toughness was investigated using in an extruded AZ31 magnesium alloy with an initial grain size of 1.0 μm. Since the small scale yielding condition was not satisfied with the present thin thickness, the value of plane-strain fracture toughness, KIC = 27.9 MPam1/2, was measured from Stretched Zone analysis. The values of KIC in AZ31 magnesium alloys were dependent on the grain size. The grain refinement was found to be one of the improvement methods for fracture toughness in magnesium alloy.