The microstructure, texture and mechanical properties of a Mg-0.6Gd (wt.%) alloy processed by hot-rolling at 450 °C to 85% of thickness reduction and subsequently annealed at temperatures ranging from 150 to 450 °C for 1 h were investigated using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and Vickers microhardness measurements. The microhardness increased from 51.2 to 56.3 Hv with increasing annealing temperature at 250 °C due to the precipitation of the Mg 5 Gd phase and then decreased gradually to 38.5 Hv up to 450 °C owing to the static recrystallization and grain growth. Meanwhile, the recrystallized grain size was stable up to annealing at 250 °C (~ 1 μm) and then increased significantly to a value of 39 μm at 450 °C. Limited dynamic recrystallization, particle-stimulated nucleation and recrystallization at shear bands are the main mechanisms leading to the weakening and spreading of the deformation basal texture during the isochronal annealing treatment.
Rai et al. (Thu,) studied this question.