Fig. 1 Schematic illustrations of the supercells used to calculate the GSFE for different slip systems: a basal slip plane; b prismatic slip plane; c pyramidal I slip plane; d pyramidal II slip plane

Fig. 2 Optical micrographs of the Mg-Zn-Ca alloy a before and b after extrusion

Fig. 3 XRD patterns of the Mg-Zn-Ca alloy a before and b after extrusion

Fig. 4 Isopleth section of the Mg-Zn-Ca system at 1.8 wt% Zn

Fig. 5 Microstructures of Mg-Zn-Ca alloy extruded at 300 °C: a IPF map; b corresponding pole figures; and c grain size distribution

Fig. 6 Representative stress-strain curve of the extruded Mg-Zn-Ca alloy

Fig. 7 Slip trace analysis of Mg-Zn-Ca alloy after 8% tensile strain: a IPF map; b SEM image of part of the deformed region with identified slip traces; c corresponding {0001} pole figure. The solid lines represent the relevant slip plane traces with maximum Schmid factors, as simulated by the MTEX Toolbox

Fig. 8 Slip trace analysis of Mg-Zn-Ca alloy after 11% tensile strain: a IPF map; b SEM image of part of the deformed region with slip traces; c corresponding {0001} pole figure. The solid lines represent the relevant slip plane traces with maximum Schmid factors, as simulated by the MTEX Toolbox

Fig. 9 Boundary misorientation maps of Mg–Zn–Ca alloy deformed under a 8% strain and b 11% strain. The red and black lines represent {10 $\stackrel{\mathrm{-}}{1}$ 2} tensile twin boundaries and grain boundaries, respectively

Fig. 10 Frequency of the activated slip systems at different tensile strains for the Mg-Zn-Ca alloy

Fig. 11 Schematic models of atomic occupancies in the Mg-Zn-Ca alloy determined by calculating the cohesive energy for different slip systems: a basal slip; b prismatic slip; c pyramidal I slip; and d pyramidal II slip

Fig. 12 Calculated GSFE curves for a basal slip; b prismatic slip; c pyramidal I?<?a?>?slip; d pyramidal I?<?c?+?a?>?slip; and e pyramidal II?<?c?+?a?>?slip