Effect of Annealing on Microstructure and Bending Formability of Mg/Al Composite Plates

YUAN Zhenhao; ZHANG Mengfei; WEI Junxin; LI Sha; CAO Shouzhen; JIA Yi; HAN Jianchao

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-6457.2026.10.001

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Journal of Netshape Forming Engineering ›› 2026, Vol. 18 ›› Issue (10) : 1-11. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-6457.2026.10.001

Composites Forming

Effect of Annealing on Microstructure and Bending Formability of Mg/Al Composite Plates

YUAN Zhenhao^1,2, ZHANG Mengfei³, WEI Junxin^1,2, LI Sha⁴, CAO Shouzhen⁵, JIA Yi^1,2, HAN Jianchao^1,2,*

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Abstract

The work aims to investigate the effect of annealing process on the microstructure and bending formability of rolled Mg/Al composite plates, and to reveal the intrinsic mechanism by which annealing improves the bending formability of Mg/Al composite plates. The evolution and morphological characteristics of the interfacial microstructure of Mg/Al composite plates were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD); the bending formability of Mg/Al composite plates was tested through bending experiments. The experimental results showed that moderate annealing treatment could significantly enhance the bending formability of the composite plates, which was manifested in an 8.7%-15% reduction in the maximum bending stress, effectively decreasing the energy consumption of bending forming, and the maximum increase in bending angle could reach 41.4%, which remarkably elevated the forming limit. The improvement of the plasticity of Mg/Al composite plates by annealing was attributed to the activation of the softening mechanism inside the plates: the static recrystallization (SRX) of the magnesium layer and the recovery behavior of the aluminum layer acted synergistically to jointly regulate the release of internal stress inside the plates, thereby improving the plasticity of each layer of material. It was also found that excessive annealing at 300 ℃ for 120 min led to excessive thickening of the brittle intermetallic compound layer, which made it a sensitive zone for crack initiation and further induced premature cracking failure at the interface, resulting in a decrease in bending fracture displacement. Compared with the as-rolled Mg/Al composite plates, the bending formability of Mg/Al composite plates is improved after annealing with different process parameters, and the annealing process of 300 ℃ for 60 min enables the Mg/Al composite plates to obtain the optimal bending formability. However, excessive annealing treatment will induce interfacial brittleness of Mg/Al composite plates and reduce their bending formability.

Key words

Mg/Al composite plates / annealing / microstructure / bending formability / intermetallic compounds

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YUAN Zhenhao, ZHANG Mengfei, WEI Junxin, LI Sha, CAO Shouzhen, JIA Yi, HAN Jianchao. Effect of Annealing on Microstructure and Bending Formability of Mg/Al Composite Plates[J]. Journal of Netshape Forming Engineering. 2026, 18(10): 1-11 https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1674-6457.2026.10.001

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Funding

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (52275362, 52575428); Excellent Young Talents Cultivation Program of the Basic Research Program of Shanxi Province (202203021224003); Scientific and Technological Innovation Programs of Higher Education Institutions in Shanxi (2025Q005)