Nanocrystalline (nc) hexagonal close-packed (hcp) metals are rarely observed to deform by twinning, which is contrary to face-centered cubic metals. Here we report that, after alloying Mg with 10 at.% Ti, deformation twins are observed in an nc Mg-Ti alloy processed by mechanical attrition. The formation of deformation twins is attributed to the alloying effect, which may change the energy path for twinning. These results point to a promising approach to design nc hcp alloys for superior mechanical properties.
This paper was published as:
Wu XL,Youssef K.M.,Koch C.C.,Mathaudhu S.N.,Kecskés LJ,Zhu YT. Deformation twinning in a nanocrystalline hcp Mg alloy. SCRIPTA MATERIALIA, 64(3):213-216(2011)