The workability evaluation of wrought AZ80 magnesium alloy in hot compression

Workability, an important parameter in metal forming process, can be evaluated by means of processing maps on the basis of dynamic materials model (DMM), constructed from experimentally generated flow stress variation with respect to strain, strain rate and temperature. To obtain the processing maps of wrought AZ80 magnesium alloy, hot compression tests were performed over a range of temperatures 523–673 K and strain rates 0.01–10 s−1. As the true strain is 0.25, 0.45, 0.65, 0.85 respectively, the response of strain-rate sensitivity (m-value), power dissipation efficiency (η-value) and instability parameter (ξ-value) to temperature and strain rate were evaluated. By the superimposition of the power dissipation and the instability maps, the stable, metastable and unstable regions were clarified clearly. In further, in the stable area the regions having the highest efficiency of power dissipation were identified and recommended. The optimal working parameters identified by the processing maps contribute to designing the hot forming process of AZ80 magnesium alloy without any defect.