High strain rate characterization of ZEK100 magnesium rolled alloy sheet

In this paper, the constitutive behaviour of a rare-earth magnesium alloy ZEK100 sheet is studied at room temperature and over a wide range of strain rates. The tensile data from 1.6 mm thick ZEK100 sheets at quasi-static and high strain rate conditions show strong in-plane anisotropy of tensile properties, such as yield and ultimate strengths, failure strain and work hardening rates. The results also show a decrease in strength and increase in ductility as the orientation changes from the rolling to the transverse direction. The work hardening behaviour is shown to be much stronger in the transverse direction when compared to the rolling and 45∘ directions. The change in stress with respect to strain rate also varied strongly with orientation. The cause of the in-plane anisotropy and strain rate dependence of tensile properties is attributed to the as-rolled crystallographic textures and the active deformation mechanisms.