Microstructure Evolution during Roller Hemming of AZ31B Magnesium Sheet

The differences in the microstructure evolution during laser-roller hemming and conventional roller hemming (done at room temperature) of commercial-grade AZ31B sheet were studied using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). It was observed that the flanging operation, done as a precursor to roller hemming, produced a heterogeneous grain structure that remained throughout the subsequent hemming steps. Laser heating, applied during the roller passes, significantly reduced the amount of both extension and contraction twinning in the inner and outer band, respectively. More importantly, after two roller passes without laser heating, extension twinning in the inner band seemed to saturate. This forced the material in the inner band to accommodate further deformation by harder mechanisms, such as pyramidal slip and contraction twinning, during the third roller pass when failure occurred. The laser-hemmed samples exhibited much lower hardness values, especially in the inner band, which was deemed to be largely responsible for the success of the hemming operation with laser heating.