Microstructure and corrosion behavior of Mg-Sn-Ca alloys after extrusion

Mg-Sn-Ca alloys promise a reasonable corrosion resistance in combination with good creep resistance, likely due to the presence of Ca2-xMgxSn and other phases. The selected alloys with 3% Sn and Ca in the range of 1%-2% have been extruded in order to achieve more homogeneous microstructure compared with the as-cast alloys. Optical microscopy(OM) and X-ray diffraction(XRD) techniques were used to study the microstructure and phases of these alloys. The corrosion behavior of these alloys was investigated by means of salt spray test and potentio-dynamic measurements. The results obtained on the alloys Mg-3Sn (T3), Mg-3Sn-1Ca (TX31), and Mg-3Sn-2Ca (TX32) indicate the presence of the same phases in as-cast and after extrusion, namely Mg2Sn, Ca2-xMgxSn, and Ca2-xMgxSn/Mg2Ca, respectively. However, due to the occurrence of extensive recrystallization in the extrusion process, the grain size has significantly reduced after extrusion. The reduction leads to the improvement of the corrosion resistance after extrusion which is then comparable with the commercial alloy AZ91D.