Non-dissociated <c+a> dislocations in an AZ31 alloy revealed by transmission electron microscopy

dislocations in pure Mg have been reported to dissociate on basal planes, resulting in a sessile configuration that limits the ductility and formability of Mg. In this study, careful tilting experiments and weak-beam dark-field electron microscopy observations elucidated that dislocations in the commercial alloy AZ31 remain compact without apparent dissociation. The stabilization of the dislocation core structure with Al and Zn alloying may explain the improved strain to failure in the AZ31 alloy as compared to pure Mg samples.