A novel strategy to strengthen the hexagonal close-packed (HCP) alloys

This work proposes a novel strengthening strategy for HCP alloy by fully utilizing the strengthening roles from texture and dual-precipitates in both basal and prismatic planes. The binary Mg-7Al (at%) alloy fabricated by such a strategy exhibits a superior combination of strength and strain hardening rate in major plastic strain ranges. Unlike conventionally fixed distribution of precipitate on given lattice plane, both basal and prismatic Mg₁₇Al₁₂ precipitates are firstly engineered to co-exist and reinforce Mg alloy. Additionally, this work reports the presence of a new precipitate morphology with a hammer-like geometric configuration for the first time to date. Further application and extension of this novel strengthening strategy to other HCP alloys, like Ti, Zr, are also discussed.