Quasistatic and Dynamic Mechanical Behavior of 0001 Magnesium Single Crystal Under Compressive Loadings

Magnesium and its alloys become increasingly attractive candidates for various structural components in aerospace industries due to their low density and high specific strength. Materials often experience different loading conditions such as quasistatic and high strain rate dynamic/shocking loading conditions. It is often required to investigate both quasistatic and dynamic mechanical behavior and the related deformation mechanisms. In this work, magnesium single crystal samples with 0001 orientation were compressed at room temperature under quasistatic loading in a universal testing machine and dynamic loading in a split Hopkinson pressure bar system. Microstructure characterization was also performed on the tested samples. The results showed that (a) the fracture strain slightly increased with the strain rate; (b) the maximum strength and strain hardening rate increased significantly when the testing changed from quasistatic to dynamic, although they did not vary much when the strain rate for dynamic testing varied in the range of 430–1200/s; and (c) the operation of the secondary pyramidal slip system was the dominating deformation mechanism.