Experimental insights into the effects of Mg addition and ECAP processing on the anomalous anneal strengthening of pure zinc

Use of zinc in various applications is constrained by its weak mechanical properties. In this study, the effects of different strategies, including alloying (by means of 1 wt% Mg addition), heat treatment (by means of annealing at different temperatures and times) and severe plastic deformation (by...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zahra Ramezanroudi, Sara Sarvarpour, Reza Alizadeh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:Journal of Materials Research and Technology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425013560
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849687248769908736
author Zahra Ramezanroudi
Sara Sarvarpour
Reza Alizadeh
author_facet Zahra Ramezanroudi
Sara Sarvarpour
Reza Alizadeh
author_sort Zahra Ramezanroudi
collection DOAJ
description Use of zinc in various applications is constrained by its weak mechanical properties. In this study, the effects of different strategies, including alloying (by means of 1 wt% Mg addition), heat treatment (by means of annealing at different temperatures and times) and severe plastic deformation (by means of performing equal channel angular pressing, ECAP) on the mechanical properties of zinc were evaluated. It was found that the addition of 1 wt% Mg significantly enhances the compressive yield strength of pure zinc by 52 %, increasing it from 138 MPa to 210 MPa, primarily due to grain refinement and the formation of secondary Mg2Zn11 and MgZn2 phases. Both pure zinc and Zn–1Mg alloy exhibit strengthening, instead of softening, during prolonged annealing at 300 °C; notably, the Zn–1Mg alloy demonstrates considerable strengthening attributed to morphological changes in secondary phases, grain boundary evolution, dislocation rearrangement, and phase interface interactions. Although ECAP processing refines and homogenizes the Zn–1Mg microstructure, it does not markedly improve mechanical strength. Nevertheless, annealing of the ECAP-processed alloy results in the highest compressive strength recorded in this study, highlighting the synergistic effect of combined processing and heat treatment on mechanical performance.
format Article
id doaj-art-6524e85d9cf64b7da990788d7e204d9b
institution DOAJ
issn 2238-7854
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Journal of Materials Research and Technology
spelling doaj-art-6524e85d9cf64b7da990788d7e204d9b2025-08-20T03:22:22ZengElsevierJournal of Materials Research and Technology2238-78542025-05-0136100801009110.1016/j.jmrt.2025.05.200Experimental insights into the effects of Mg addition and ECAP processing on the anomalous anneal strengthening of pure zincZahra Ramezanroudi0Sara Sarvarpour1Reza Alizadeh2Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, IranDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, IranCorresponding author. P.O.Box: 11365-9466, Iran.; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, IranUse of zinc in various applications is constrained by its weak mechanical properties. In this study, the effects of different strategies, including alloying (by means of 1 wt% Mg addition), heat treatment (by means of annealing at different temperatures and times) and severe plastic deformation (by means of performing equal channel angular pressing, ECAP) on the mechanical properties of zinc were evaluated. It was found that the addition of 1 wt% Mg significantly enhances the compressive yield strength of pure zinc by 52 %, increasing it from 138 MPa to 210 MPa, primarily due to grain refinement and the formation of secondary Mg2Zn11 and MgZn2 phases. Both pure zinc and Zn–1Mg alloy exhibit strengthening, instead of softening, during prolonged annealing at 300 °C; notably, the Zn–1Mg alloy demonstrates considerable strengthening attributed to morphological changes in secondary phases, grain boundary evolution, dislocation rearrangement, and phase interface interactions. Although ECAP processing refines and homogenizes the Zn–1Mg microstructure, it does not markedly improve mechanical strength. Nevertheless, annealing of the ECAP-processed alloy results in the highest compressive strength recorded in this study, highlighting the synergistic effect of combined processing and heat treatment on mechanical performance.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425013560ECAPMechanical propertiesSevere plastic deformationThermal stabilityZinc alloys
spellingShingle Zahra Ramezanroudi
Sara Sarvarpour
Reza Alizadeh
Experimental insights into the effects of Mg addition and ECAP processing on the anomalous anneal strengthening of pure zinc
Journal of Materials Research and Technology
ECAP
Mechanical properties
Severe plastic deformation
Thermal stability
Zinc alloys
title Experimental insights into the effects of Mg addition and ECAP processing on the anomalous anneal strengthening of pure zinc
title_full Experimental insights into the effects of Mg addition and ECAP processing on the anomalous anneal strengthening of pure zinc
title_fullStr Experimental insights into the effects of Mg addition and ECAP processing on the anomalous anneal strengthening of pure zinc
title_full_unstemmed Experimental insights into the effects of Mg addition and ECAP processing on the anomalous anneal strengthening of pure zinc
title_short Experimental insights into the effects of Mg addition and ECAP processing on the anomalous anneal strengthening of pure zinc
title_sort experimental insights into the effects of mg addition and ecap processing on the anomalous anneal strengthening of pure zinc
topic ECAP
Mechanical properties
Severe plastic deformation
Thermal stability
Zinc alloys
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785425013560
work_keys_str_mv AT zahraramezanroudi experimentalinsightsintotheeffectsofmgadditionandecapprocessingontheanomalousannealstrengtheningofpurezinc
AT sarasarvarpour experimentalinsightsintotheeffectsofmgadditionandecapprocessingontheanomalousannealstrengtheningofpurezinc
AT rezaalizadeh experimentalinsightsintotheeffectsofmgadditionandecapprocessingontheanomalousannealstrengtheningofpurezinc