Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of a Ag Micro-Alloyed Mg-5Sn Alloy

Effects of 1.5 wt.% Ag addition and solid solution?+?artificial ageing at 160 °C on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a Mg-5Sn alloy have been studied. The results show that Ag addition has significantly hardened the solution-treated Mg-5Sn alloy. During the ageing process, the hardness increase rate and the strength and ductility of the Mg-5Sn alloy at each state are also improved by Ag addition. The improved strengthening behavior is primarily attributed to the refinement distribution of the Mg₂Sn precipitates, the enhanced precipitation process, and the synergistic strengthening effect of Mg₂Sn and a metastable plate DO₁₉ phase formed at lower ageing temperature. For each solution-treated alloy, the strength and ductility are higher than the corresponding cast ones. Ageing further enhances the yield strength, and the ductility of the Mg-5Sn-1.5Ag alloy is also increased after ageing. The fracture surfaces of the both peak-aged alloys exhibit the characteristic of a mixture of quasi-cleavage and ductile fracture.