Abstract
The work hardening characteristics of the basal slip of magnesium have been investigated by tension test at elevated temperatures, from room temperature to 300°C, using crystals of various orientations. The resolved shear stress shear strain curves obtained typically consist of two stages. The first is the well known easy glide region, and the second is a rapid hardening region which corresponds to the so-called stage II of f.c.c. metals, but in these curves the region corresponding to the stage III of f.c.c. metals is not observed. Stage II of magnesium basal slip decreases with increasing temperature, and disappears above 200°C. From the results of tension tests and metallographical examinations, it is concluded that the hardening mechanism of basal slip in stage II is much different from that of the octahedral slip in f.c.c. metals, and it depends on the {11\bar20} kink bands locked by the formation of {10\bar12} twins.
