Mechanical characterization and constitutive modeling of Mg alloy sheets

Highlights: ► Material characterization of the Mg alloys AZ31 and ZE10 at elevated temperatures. ► Distortion of the yield locus does not depend on the strain rate. ► Novel constitutive model suitable for the analysis of sheet forming of magnesium. ► Strain-dependent r-values are included within the model. ► The model is thermodynamically consistent and accounts for distortional hardening. - Abstract: In this paper, an experimental mechanical characterization of the magnesium alloys ZE10 and AZ31 is performed and a suitable constitutive model is established. The mechanical characterization is based on uniaxial tensile tests. In order to avoid poor formability at room temperature, the tests were conducted at elevated temperature (200 °C). The uniaxial tensile tests reveal sufficient ductility allowing sheet forming processes at this temperature. The differences in yield stresses and plastic strain ratios (r-values) confirm the anisotropic response of the materials under study. The constitutive model is established so that the characteristic mechanical features observed in magnesium alloys such as anisotropy and compression-tension asymmetry can be accommodated. This model is thermodynamically consistent, incorporates rate effect, is formulated based on finite strain plasticity theory and is applicable in sheet forming simulations of magnesium alloys. More precisely, a model originally proposed by Cazacu and Barlat in 2004 and later modified to account for the evolution of the material anisotropy is rewritten in a thermodynamically consistent framework. The calibrated constitutive model is shown to capture the characteristic mechanical features observed in magnesium alloy sheets.