Solid-solution hardening and softening in Mg–Zn alloys

The effect of temperature on the yield strength of polycrystalline specimens has been used to isolate the effects of solid-solution hardening on the basal planes from those of solid-solution hardening and softening on the prismatic planes, for Zn concentrations between 0 and 2.6 at.%. Solid-solution softening of the prism planes may reduce the yield strength for concentrations of up to about 0.6 at.%, while it is off-set by the overall solution hardening effects in the higher alloys.