The effect of Mn on the microstructure and mechanical properties of as-extruded Mg-0.5Sr alloy were discussed in this work. The results showed that high Mn alloying (2 wt.%) could significantly improve the mechanical properties of the alloys, namely, the tensile and compressive yield strength. The grain size of as-extruded Mg-0.5Sr alloys significantly was refined from 2.78 μm to 1.15 μm due to the pinning effect by fine α-Mn precipitates during the extrusion. Moreover, it also showed that the tensile yield strength and the compressive yield strength of Mg-0.5Sr-2Mn alloy were 32 and 40 percent age higher than those of Mg-0.5Sr alloy, respectively. Moreover, the strain hardening behaviors of the Mg-0.5Sr-2Mn alloy were discussed, which proved that a large number of small grains and texture have an important role in improving mechanical properties.

Mg–Al binary alloys in the concentration range from 0 to 4.0 wt.% Al have been prepared under conventional casting conditions. The as-cast Mg and Mg–Al alloys after solution treatment were processed via hot extrusion at 350 °C. The results show that Al has a positive influence on grain refinement and solution strengthening. The as-extruded Mg–Al alloys are fully recrystallized, and the tensile yield strength of the binary alloys is two times higher than that of pure Mg. Furthermore, the elongations of Mg–Al alloys are much higher than that of pure Mg. In addition, Mg and Mg–Al alloys were further studied by the viscoplastic self-consistent (VPSC) model to explore the activation and evolution of deformation modes. The simulation results match well with the experimental results.

In the present work, cross-wavy bending at room temperature was carried out to tailor the microstructure and stretch formability of rolled AZ31 sheets. Wavy bending processing generates profuse {10–12} twins and a tilt basal texture. Subsequent recrystallization annealing causes grain coarsening and enhances the intensity of twin-orientation. The combined use of wavy bending and annealing can maintain high tensile ductility and remarkably enhances the stretch formability of rolled AZ31 sheet. It can be mainly attributed to the non-basal texture in the wavy bent sheet which increases the thinning capability during in-plane tension.