In today’s industry, the need for lightweight alloys with high strength properties is growing. More specifically, magnesium alloys are in high demand. Unfortunately, magnesium’s limited formability hinders its broad range applicability. Previous research has discovered that the tensile formability of this alloy can be increased using electrical pulsing during the deformation process, referred to as Electrically-Assisted Manufacturing (EAM). Although this method increases a material’s formability (i.e. lowers flow stress, increases elongation, and reduces springback), a detailed analysis is required to further evaluate the effects of electricity on the material’s microstructure. The research herein will examine the microstructure of Magnesium AZ31B-O specimens that were deformed under uniaxial tension while electrically pulsed with various pulsing parameters (i.e. different current density/pulse duration combinations). This microstructural analysis will focus on how EAM affected grain size, grain orientation, and twinning. The microstructure of the following different specimen types will be compared: deformed EAM specimens, deformed non-pulsed baseline specimens, and undeformed non-pulsed “as received” specimens.

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