Extraordinary hardening-by-annealing in bulk ultrafine grained magnesium with ultra-low yttrium addition

Zheng, R.*; Gong, W.   ; 6 of others*

Hall-Petch law fails when grains smaller than a critical size, due to grain boundary (GB) kinetics-dominated plasticity. To enhance strength, improving GB stability is a consideration. However, this often requires a significant amount of alloying elements, posing resource challenges. Additionally, practical fabrication of extremely fine grains is still an issue. In our study, we firstly demonstrate a remarkable hardening-by-annealing phenomenon in magnesium (Mg) with relatively large grain sizes of 0.2-0.5 m, even with ultra-low yttrium (Y) addition. We reveal that annealing induces GB segregation/relaxation, effectively limiting the GB kinetics and promoting dislocation-dominated plasticity. Furthermore, the accompanying dislocation annihilation hinders deformation due to dislocation scarcity. As a result, we discovered extraordinary hardening in bulk ultrafine grained Mg-Y ultra-dilute alloy. This work offers a promising avenue for developing energy- and resource-efficient sustainable Mg alloys with superior mechanical properties.