The relationship between processing, structure and properties is analyzed in magnesium alloys subjected to equal-channel angular pressing.

Finite element modeling is used to show that the flow softening behavior associated with grain refinement might cause shear localization and billet failure in magnesium alloys processed by ECAP. It also shows that increasing the angle between the channels of the die reduces the accumulated damage in the billets and increasing the material strain rate sensitivity reduces the tendency for shear localization. Both procedures reduce the tendency for billet cracking.

The mechanism of grain refinement in magnesium alloys deformed at moderate temperatures differs from that observed in other metals such as copper and aluminum. Fine grains nucleate along pre-existing grain boundaries in a necklace pattern in coarse-grained magnesium while homogeneous nucleation of fine grains is observed in fine-grained. A bimodal grain size distribution is observed after processing alloys from an initial coarse structure and a homogeneous distribution of ultrafine grains is the outcome of a starting fine one.

Experiments and simulations are used to analyze the evolution of texture. It is shown that different components are formed depending on the activity ratio of non-basal slip and processing route. The measured pole figures exhibit features characteristic of high activity of non-basal slip. It is also shown that the development of some texture components and their orientation depends on the initial texture and the die angle which provide the basis for future texture engineering.

Excellent superplastic properties, including a record elongation for a magnesium alloy, were observed after ECAP. Systematic research showed that the structure characteristics prior and after ECAP play significant role on these properties. Grain growth during superplastic deformation causes a strain hardening effect. The experimental results showed good agreement with the theoretical model for grain boundary sliding.