Precipitation-hardenable Mg–2.4Zn–0.1Ag–0.1Ca–0.16Zr (at.%) wrought magnesium alloy

A new precipitation-hardenable wrought magnesium alloy based on the Mg–Zn system with an excellent combination of high tensile yield strength, good ductility and low tensile-compression anisotropy has been developed. The Mg–2.4Zn–0.1Ag–0.1Ca(–0.16Zr) (at.%) alloys show significantly higher age-hardening responses compared to that of the binary Mg–2.4Zn alloy due to the increased number density and refinement of rod-like MgZn₂ precipitates. The addition of Zr to the Mg–2.4Zn–0.1Ag–0.1Ca alloy resulted in a significant refinement of the grain size. A high number density of precipitates was observed in the Mg–2.4Zn–0.1Ag–0.1Ca–0.16Zr alloy in both the as-extruded condition and following isothermal ageing at 160 °C. The tensile yield strength of the as-extruded and aged alloys was 289 and 325 MPa, with an elongation of 17% and 14%, respectively. These alloys show relatively low compression and tensile anisotropy. The origins of these unique mechanical properties are discussed based on the detailed microstructural investigation.     

Microstructures and mechanical properties of homogenization and isothermal aging Mg–Gd–Er–Zn–Zr alloy

The effects of homogenization and isothermal aging treatment on the mechanical properties of Mg–12Gd–2Er–1Zn–0.6Zr(wt%) alloy were investigated. The precipitated long-period stacking order(LPSO) structure and the aging precipitation sequence of the conditioned alloys were observed and analyzed, respectively. The results indicate that the 14H-LPSO structure occurs after the homogenization treatment and the b0 phase forms after the isothermal aging process. These two independent processes could be controlled by the precipitation temperature range. The significant increase in the elongation of the as-cast alloy after homogenization treatment is attributed to the disappearance of the coarse primary Mg5(Gd, Er, Zn) phase and the presence of the 14H-LPSO structure. The precipitation sequence of the investigated alloy is a-Mg(SSS)/b00(D019)/b0(cbco)/b.Furthermore, the yield tensile strength(YTS) and ultimate tensile strength(UTS) values of the isothermal aging alloy have a great improvement, which could be attributed to the high density of the precipitated b0 phase.     

Serrated flow and tensile properties of a Mg–Y–Nd alloy

Serrated flow in WE54 alloy during tensile deformation is reported. The observed static strain ageing effect and negative strain rate sensitivity suggest that the serrated flow is due to interactions between dislocations and solute atoms, known as dynamic strain ageing (DSA). The tensile properties are analysed in relation to the DSA effect.     

Effect of microstructure on tensile and fatigue properties of cast Mg–10Gd–2Y–0·5Zr alloy

Abstract

The microstructure and its effect on tensile properties and fatigue properties of a Mg–10Gd–2Y–0·5Zr (wt-%) cast alloy have been studied. The microstructures of as-cast, solution treated and T6 treated specimens were examined by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Tensile properties and fatigue properties of the specimens were determined and fractography was carried out. The SEM examination showed that the precipitates after T6 treatment were mainly distributed at grain boundaries, which accounts for the intergranular brittle fracture observed. The average grain size of the specimens measured after solution treatment varied from 87 to 128 μm. The mechanical tests showed that the tensile strength and low cycle fatigue strength increase with decreasing average grain size, whereas high fatigue strength is less sensitive to grain size. The fractography indicated that ductile and brittle fracture patterns coexist.     

Quasicrystal dissolution and performance of isothermally heat-treated Mg–Zn–Y alloy

Conventional casting method was employed to prepare Mg–Zn–Y alloy only with a-Mg+I-phase; however, the grain size of quasicrystal is quite large in the ascast state.Therefore, isothermal treatment was applied to refine the quasicrystal phase.The result shows that after the Mg–Zn–Y alloy was isothermally treated at 500 °C for several hours, the coarse quasicrystal can be gradually dissolved and thus refined.Generally, the dissolving processes of quasicrystal are slow first and then accelerate;after isothermally treated with 8 h at 500 °C, the quasicrystal is almost completely dissolved into the matrix only with 1–5 lm tiny quasicrystals remained.Refinement of quasicrystal can markedly reduce the wear resistance, but increase the corrosion resistance.     

Plastic deformation behaviors of a Mg–Ce–Zn–Zr alloy

The stress–strain behaviors of a Mg–2.8%Ce–0.7%Zn–0.7%Zr (wt.%) alloy with various strain rates at different deformation temperatures were investigated. It is found that the alloy can be extruded at 623 K with σ_0.2=222.4 MPa, σ_b=257.8 MPa and δ=12.0%. The working hardening, the dynamic recovery and the dynamic recrystallization play important roles to affect the plastic deformation behaviors of the alloy at different temperature regions, respectively.     

Microstructures and mechanical properties of friction stir welded joints of Zr–Ti alloy

Zirconium–titanium alloy joints were successfully produced by friction stir welding. Unlike the (α+β) dual phase microstructure in base metal, only the β phase existed in the region in which temperature exceeded the β transient point for the as welded joint. Accordingly, the hardness in these regions exhibited integral decrement and uniform distribution features. The thermal simulation further showed that hardness variation was mainly determined by phase composition. Microstructure development in the nugget zone was mainly governed by continuous dynamic recrystallisation. Satisfactory ultimate tensile strength and elongation equal to the base metal were achieved in the as welded joint. Tensile fracture occurred at the heat affected zone near the retreating side of the joint. The fracture surface of the joint exhibited a mixing feature with quasi-cleavage facets and small dimples.     

Enhanced mechanical properties and formability of hot-rolled Mg–Zn–Mn alloy by Ca and Sm alloying

In order to broaden the application of wrought Mg alloy sheets in the automotive industry, the influence of Ca and Sm alloying on the texture evolution, mechanical properties, and formability of a hot-rolled Mg–2Zn–0.2Mn alloy was investigated by OM, XRD, SEM, EBSD, tensile tests, and Erichsen test. The results showed that the average grain size and basal texture intensity of Mg–2Zn–0.2Mn alloys were remarkably decreased after Ca and Sm additions. 0.64 wt.% Ca or 0.48 wt.% Sm addition significantly increased the tensile strength, ductility and formability. Moreover, the synergetic addition of Sm and Ca improved the ductility and formability of Mg–2Zn–0.2Mn alloy, which was due to the change of Ca distribution and further reduction of the size of Ca-containing particles by Sm addition. The results provided a possibility of replacing RE elements with Ca and Sm in Mg alloys which bring about outstanding mechanical properties and formability.     

Effects of cooling rate on microstructure,mechanical and corrosion properties of Mg–Zn–Ca alloy

Mg₆₉Zn₂₇Ca₄ alloys with diameters of 1.5, 2 and 3 mm were fabricated using copper mold injection casting method. Microstructural analysis reveals that the alloy with a diameter of 1.5 mm is almost completely composed of amorphous phase. However, with the cooling rate decline, a little α-Mg and MgZn dendrites can be found in the amorphous matrix. Based on the microstructural and tensile results, the ductile dendrites are conceived to be highly responsible for the enhanced compressive strain from 1.3% to 3.1% by increasing the sample diameter from 1.5 mm to 3 mm. In addition, the Mg₆₉Zn₂₇Ca₄ alloy with 1.5 mm diameter has the best corrosion properties. The current Mg-based alloys show much better corrosion resistance than the traditionally commercial wrought magnesium alloy ZK60 in simulated sea-water.     

Mechanical properties and energy absorption of extruded Mg–2.0Zn–0.3Zr alloy with Y addition

The effects of the rare earth element Y addition on mechanical properties and energy absorption of a low Zn content Mg–Zn–Zr system alloy and the deformation temperature of optimized alloy were investigated by room tensile test, optical microscopy(OM), X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), and transmission electron microscope(TEM). The results show that,after homogenization at 420 °C for 12 h for the as-cast alloys, Mg Zn phase forms, which decreases the strength of Mg–2.0Zn–0.3Zr alloy with Y content of 0.9 wt%. The tensile strength and elongation of the alloy with a Y addition of 5.8 wt% reach the max value(281 ± 2) MPa and(30.1 ± 0.7) %, respectively; the strength and elongation of Mg–2.0Zn–0.3Zr–0.9Y alloy at the optimized extrusion temperature of 330 °C reach(321 ± 1) MPa and(21.9 ± 0.7) %, respectively. The energy absorption increases with the increase of Y content, the max value reached 0.79 MJ m-3with Y content of 5.8 wt%, and the energy absorption of Mg–2.0Zn–0.3Zr–0.9Y alloy at the optimized extrusion temperature of 330 °C reaches0.75 MJ m-3.     

Microstructure,mechanical and biodegradable properties of a Mg–2Zn–1Gd–0.5Zr alloy with different solution treatments

Solution treatment is a useful way to improve the degradation resistance of Mg alloys.In this work,effects of solution treatment temperature on mechanical and biodegradable properties of an extruded Mg–2Zn–1Gd–0.5Zr alloy were studied.Microstructure analysis,tensile test, three-point bending test, immersion test and electrochemical test were performed.The results showed that increasing solution temperature decreases the mechanical properties of the alloy.However, three-point bending test revealed that the solution-treated alloy at 510 ℃ could maintain 95% of its maximum bending force(F_(max)) during the 28-day immersion period.After treatment at 510 ℃ for 5 h, all the second phases were dissolved into the alloy, the galvanic corrosion was inhibited, and the alloy exhibited good corrosion resistance with a corrosion rate of 0.35 mm·year~(-1) in Hank's solution.     

Effects of tensile test parameters on the mechanical properties of a bimodal Al–Mg alloy

The properties of aluminum alloy (AA) 5083 are shown to be significantly improved by grain size reduction through cryomilling and the incorporation of unmilled Al particles into the material, creating a bimodal grain size distribution consisting of coarse grains in a nanocrystalline matrix. To provide insight into the mechanical behavior and ultimately facilitate engineering applications, the present study reports on the effects of coarse grain ratio, anisotropy, strain rate and specimen size on the elastic–plastic behavior of bimodal AA 5083 evaluated in uniaxial tension tests using a full-factorial experiment design. To determine the governing failure mechanisms under different testing conditions, the specimens’ failure surfaces were analyzed using optical and electron microscopy. The results of the tests were found to conform to Joshi’s plasticity model. Significant anisotropy effects were observed, in a drastic reduction in strength and ductility, when tension was applied perpendicular (transverse) to the direction of extrusion. These specimens also exhibited a smooth, flat fracture surface morphology with a significantly different surface texture than specimens tested in the axial direction. It was found that decreasing specimen thickness and strain rate served to increase both the strength and ductility of the material. The failure surface morphology was found to differ between specimens of different thicknesses.     

Effects of fabrication methods on deformability and microstructure of Mg–Zn–Zr wrought alloy

The effects of fabrication processing methods on the workability of Mg–Zn–Zr wrought magnesium alloy (ZK60A) were investigated based on the microstructure and inherent internal defects. Three different billets, semi-continuously cast, semi-continuously cast and subsequently extruded, and die-cast, were fabricated and uniaxially compressed at elevated temperatures and two different strain rates to determine the deformation capabilities. The grain structure of the billets was investigated using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The internal defects were inspected by an X-ray scanner. The enhanced deformability was observed in semi-continuously cast billet compared to the one fabricated by conventional die-casting, and the subsequent extrusion further improved the deformability.     

Microstructures and mechanical properties of hot rolled AZ31 Mg alloy sheets

The microstructures and mechanical properties of hot rolled AZ31 Mg alloy sheets were studied to understand the microstructure evolution during AZ31 Mg alloy hot rolling process. The roller was heated to 180 ℃ with burning hydrogen, and the extruded plates were rolled at 400 ℃ from 10 to 1 mm with a reduction of 30% in thickness per pass. The result shows that there is no side-cracking of these rolled sheets every pass. The extruded microstructures are greatly refined and mechanical properties are improved. The fine grains of about 4μm were obtained of the final 0.9 mm sheets.     

The effect of scandium on the microstructure,mechanical properties and weldability of a cast Al–Mg alloy

The microstructure, mechanical properties and weld hot cracking behaviour of a cast Al–Mg–Sc alloy containing 0.17 wt.% Sc were compared with those of a Sc-free alloy of similar chemical composition. Although this level of Sc addition did not cause grain refinement, the dendritic substructure appeared to be finer. There was a significant increase in the yield and tensile strength and the microhardness of the Al–Mg–Sc alloy relative to its Sc-free counterpart. A discontinuous precipitation reaction was observed at the dendritic cell boundaries. Microchemical analysis revealed segregation of Mg and Sc at these interdendritic regions. No improvement was observed in the resistance of the alloy to weld solidification cracking or heat affected zone (HAZ) liquation cracking. This is explained in terms of the inability of this level of Sc addition to refine the solidification structure and to influence the liquation of solute-enriched dendritic cell boundaries of the cast material.     

Comparison about effects of Sr,Zr and Ce additions on as cast microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg–3·8Zn–2·2Ca (wt-%) magnesium alloy

Abstract

The effects of Sr, Zr and Ce additions on the as cast microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg–3·8Zn–2·2Ca (wt-%) magnesium alloy are investigated and compared. The results indicate that adding 0·1 wt-%Sr, 0·6 wt-%Zr or 1·0 wt-%Ce can effectively refine the grains of the alloy, and the refinement efficiency of Zr addition is relatively high, followed by the additions of Ce and Sr respectively. In addition, adding 0·1 wt-%Sr, 0·6 wt-%Zr or 1·0 wt-%Ce can improve the tensile properties of the alloy, and the improvement of Zr addition is relatively high, followed by the additions of Ce and Sr respectively. However, the effects of adding 0·1 wt-%Sr, 0·6 wt-%Zr and 1·0 wt-%Ce on the creep properties of the alloy are different. Adding 0·1 wt-%Sr or 0·6 wt-%Zr result in a decrease of creep properties. Oppositely, a significant improvement of creep properties can be obtained by adding 1·0 wt-%Ce.     

Aging precipitation behavior and properties of Al–Zn–Mg–Cu–Zr–Er alloy at different quenching rates

The effect of quenching rate on the aging precipitation behavior and properties of Al–Zn–Mg–Cu–Zr–Er alloy was investigated. The scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and atom probe tomography were used to study the characteristics of clusters and precipitates in the alloy. The quench-induced η phase and a large number of clusters are formed in the air-cooled alloy with the slowest cooling rate, which contributes to an increment of hardness by 24% (HV 26) compared with that of the water-quenched one. However, the aging hardening response speed and peak-aged hardness of the alloy increase with the increase of quenching rate. Meanwhile, the water-quenched alloy after peak aging also has the highest strength, elongation, and corrosion resistance, which is due to the high driving force and increased number density of aging precipitates, and the narrowed precipitate free zones.