Influence of the solute concentration on the anelasticity in Mg-Al alloys: A multiple-approach study

The anelastic mechanical response caused by complex twinning-detwinning processes interacting with dislocation slip in Mg and its alloys is ubiquitous for their deformation behavior. A rare blend of advanced in-situ techniques with different spatiotemporal resolutions, including the acoustic emission (AE) measurements, neutron diffraction, in-situ SEM and high-speed microscopic video imaging, enabled access to otherwise inaccessible fine microstructural details of the underlying deformation mechanisms during cyclic loading of Mg alloys. Specifically, the influence of the alloying content on the anelastic behavior was characterized by the combination of these techniques. The applicability, advantages, and disadvantages of different in-situ techniques to study the deformation mechanisms in Mg alloys are discussed.