Microstructure and phase compositions of as-cast Mg–3.9Zn–0.6RE(Gd,Y) alloy with different Gd/Y ratios

Mg–Zn–RE(Gd, Y) alloys with different Gd/Y atomic ratios were prepared by conventional casting, and the microstructure of the alloys was studied by multiple means. Icosahedral quasicrystal phases are observed in all alloys. The different Gd/Y atomic ratios affect the microstructures of the alloys irregularly. The alloy with more Gd has large dendritic structure and more complicated phase composition which are composed of I-phase lamellar eutectic, W-phase divorced eutectic, Mg–RE cuboid particles and Mg–Zn binary phases. Other two alloys show similar microstructures and phase compositions with very thin lamellar eutectics which distribute along the interdendritic region, and the lamellar eutectics are formed by I-phase and Mg. The element contents of the I-phases and Mg–RE phases are partially controlled by the Gd/Y atomic ratio.     

Microstructure,Microsegregation, and Mechanical Properties of Directional Solidified Mg–3.0Nd–1.5Gd Alloy

The microstructure, microsegregation, and mechanical properties of directional solidified Mg–3.0Nd–1.5Gd ternary alloys were experimentally studied. Experimental results showed that the solidification microstructure was composed of dendrite primary a(Mg) phase and interdendritic a(Mg) ? Mg12(Nd, Gd) eutectic and Mg5 Gd phase. The primary dendrite arm spacing k1 and secondary dendrite arm spacing k2 were found to be depended on the cooling rate R in the form k1= 8.0415 9 10-6R-0.279 and k2= 6.8883 9 10-6R-0.205, respectively, under the constant temperature gradient of40 K/mm and in the region of cooling rates from 0.4 to 4 K/s. The concentration profiles of Nd and Gd elements calculated by Scheil model were found to be deviated from the ones measured by EPMA to varying degrees, due to ignorance of the back diffusion of the solutes Nd and Gd within a(Mg) matrix. And microsegregation of Gd depended more on the growth rate, compared with Nd microsegregation. The directionally solidified experimental alloy exhibited higher strength than the non-directionally solidified alloy, and the tensile strength of the directionally solidified experimental alloy was improved,while the corresponding elongation decreased with the increase of growth rate.     

Evolution of Microstructure,Residual Stress,and Tensile Properties of Mg–Zn–Y–La–Zr Magnesium Alloy Processed by Extrusion

The microstructure, texture, residual stress, and tensile properties of Mg–6 Zn–2 Y–1 La–0.5 Zr(wt%) magnesium alloy were investigated before and after extrusion process, which performed at 300 °C and 400 °C. The microstructural characterizations indicated that the as-cast alloy was comprised of α-Mg, Mg–Zn, Mg–Zn–La, and Mg–Zn–Y phases. During homogenization at 400 °C for 24 h, most of the secondary phases exhibited partial dissolution. Extrusion process led to a remarkable grain refi nement due to dynamic recrystallization(DRX). The degree of DRX and the DRXed grain size increased with increasing extrusion temperature. The homogenized alloy did not show a preferential crystallographic orientation, whereas the extruded alloys showed strong basal texture. The extrusion process led to a signifi cant improvement on the compressive residual stress and mechanical properties. The alloy extruded at 300 °C exhibited the highest basal texture intensity, the compressive residual stress and hardness, and yield and tensile strengths among the studied alloys.     

Hot deformation behavior and microstructure evolution of a Mg–Gd–Nd–Y–Zn alloy

The hot deformation behavior of homogenized Mg–6.5Gd–1.3Nd–0.7Y–0.3Zn alloy was investigated during compression at temperatures of 250–400 ℃ and at strain rates ranging from 0.001 to 0.100 s~(-1). Microstructure analyses show that the flow behaviors are associated with the deformation mechanisms. At the lower temperatures(250–300 ℃), deformation twinning is triggered due to the difficult activation of dislocation cross-slip. Dynamic recrystallization(DRX) accompanied by dynamic precipitation occurs at the temperature of 350 ℃ and influences the softening behavior of the flow.DRX that develops extensively at original grain boundaries is the main softening mechanism at the high temperature of 400 ℃ and eventually brings a more homogeneous microstructure than that in other deformation conditions. The volume fraction of the DRXed grains increases with temperature increasing and decreases with strain rate increasing.     

Phase selection and performance of Mg–Cu–Y amorphous composite with different Mg/Cu ratios

In this article, Mg–Cu–Y alloys with two different Mg/Cu ratios(in at%) were prepared using a watercooled copper mold. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction were applied to analyze the microstructure and phase composition. Moreover, corrosion resistance and wear resistance were studied systematically. The results show that both Mg65 Cu25 Y10 and Mg60 Cu30 Y10 alloys could form a composition of crystalline and amorphous phases. Although the microstructure of Mg65 Cu25 Y10 consists of an amorphous phase and a-Mg, Mg2 Cu, and Cu2 Y crystalline phases, the microstructure of Mg60 Cu30 Y10 alloy mainly consists of the amorphous phase and a-Mg, Mg2 Cu. With reducing Mg/Cu ratio, the alloys have better corrosion resistance and wear resistance. The mechanism has also been discussed in detail.     

Effects of Zinc and Calcium Concentration on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Hot-Rolled Mg–Zn–Ca Sheets

Four kinds of Mg alloys with different Zn and Ca concentration were selected to analyze the effect of Zn and Ca concentration on the microstructure and the mechanical properties of Mg–Zn–Ca alloys. It was found that Zn and Ca concentration has a great influence on the volume fraction, the morphology and the size of second phase. The Mg–1.95Zn–0.75Ca(wt%) alloy with the highest volume fraction, continuous network and largest size of Ca2Mg6Zn3 phase showed the lowest elongation to failure of about 7%, while the Mg–0.73Zn–0.12Ca(wt%) alloy with the lowest volume fraction and smallest size of Ca2Mg6Zn3 phase showed the highest elongation to failure of about 37%. It was suggested that uniform elongations of the Mg–Zn–Ca alloys were sensitive to the volume fraction of the Ca2Mg6Zn3 phases, especially the network Ca2Mg6Zn3phases; post-uniform elongations were dependent on the size of the Ca2Mg6Zn3 phase, especially the size of network Ca2Mg6Zn3 phase. Reduction in Zn and Ca concentration was an effective way to improve the roomtemperature ductility of weak textured Mg–Zn–Ca alloys.     

Effect of cooling rate and composition on microstructures and properties of Zn-Mg alloys

The Zn-Mg alloys with Mg additions of 35%, 40% and 45%（mass fraction） were prepared by conventional casting method, with the aim to develop new biodegradable materials. The effects of cooling rate and composition on the microstructures, hardness and corrosion resistance were studied by XRD, SEM, microhardness and corrosion testing techniques. The corrosion behaviors of experimental alloys in simulated body fluids were analyzed. The results show that the amount of the petal-like MgZn2 phase decreases, as well as the hardness of the alloys, but that of the polygonal MgZn2 phase increases with the increase of Mg content when the cooling rate is constant. When the alloy composition is constant, the MgZn2 phase changes easily from petal-like to polygon, and the hardness decreases with the decrease of the cooling rate.     

Microstructure,Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Behavior of Extruded Mg–Zn–Ag Alloys with Single-Phase Structure

Mg–Zn–Ag alloys have been extensively studied in recent years for potential biodegradable implants due to their unique mechanical properties,biodegradability and biocompatibility.In the present study,Mg–3Zn-x Ag(wt%,x=0.2,0.5 and0.8)alloys with single-phase crystal structure were prepared by backward extrusion at 340°C.The addition of Ag element into Mg–3Zn slightly influences the ultimate tensile strength and microstructure,but the elongation firstly increases from12%to 19.8%and then decreases from 19.8%to 9.9%with the increment of Ag concentration.The tensile yield strength,ultimate tensile strength and elongation of Mg–3Zn–0.2Ag alloy reach up to 142,234 MPa and 19.8%,respectively,which are the best mechanical performance of Mg–Zn–Ag alloys in the present work.The extruded Mg–3Zn–0.2Ag alloy also possesses the best corrosion behavior with the corresponding corrosion rate of 3.2 mm/year in immersion test,which could be explained by the single-phase and uniformly distributed grain structure,and the fewer twinning.     

Solidification behaviour of Al-7 %Si-Mg casting alloys

The effects of Mg content and cooling rate on the solidification behaviour of Al-7% Si-Mg(mass fraction)casting alloys have been investigated using differential scanning calorimetry, differential thermal analysis and microscopy. The Mg contents were selected as respectively 0.00%, 0.35% and 0. 70% (mass fraction). DTA curves of Al-7%Si-0.55%Mg(mass fraction) alloy at various cooling rates were accomplished and the alloy melt was cast in different cooling rates. The results indicate that increasing Mg content can lower the liquidus and binary Al-Si eutectic transformation temperatures. Large Fe-rich π-phases (AlsFeMg3Si6) are found in the 0.70% Mg alloys together with some small β-phases (Al5FeSi) ; in contrast, only β-phases are observed in the 0.35% Mg alloys. The test results of the Al-7%Si-0.55% Mg alloys identify that the liquidus and binary Al-Si eutectic transformation temperatures decrease, and the quantity of ternary Al-Si-Mg2 Si eutectic phase decreases as the cooling rate increases.     

Dynamic response and plastic deformation behavior of Ti–5Al–2.5Sn ELI and Ti–8Al–1Mo–1V alloys under high-strain rate

Split Hopkinson pressure bar test system was used to investigate the plastic deformation behavior and dynamic response character of a-type Ti–5Al–2.5Sn ELI and near a-type Ti–8Al–1Mo–1V titanium alloy when subjected to dynamic loading. In the present work, stress–strain curves at strain rate from 1.5 9 103to 5.0 9 103s-1were analyzed, and optical microscope(OM) was used to reveal adiabatic shearing behavior of recovered samples. Results show that both the two alloys manifest significant strain hardening effects. Critical damage strain rate of the two alloys is about 4.3 9 103s-1, under which the impact absorbs energy of Ti–5Al–2.5Sn ELI and Ti–8Al–1Mo–1V are 560 and 470 MJ m-3, respectively. Both of them fracture along the maximum shearing strength orientation, an angle of 45° to the compression axis. No adiabatic shear band(ASB) is found in Ti–5Al–2.5Sn ELI alloy, whereas several ASBs with different widths exist without regular direction in Ti–8Al–1Mo–1V alloy.     

Effect of cooling rate on microstructure and compressive performance of AZ91 magnesium alloy

Effect of cooling rate on both microstructure and room temperature compressive performance of the AZ91 magnesium alloy was investigated. The experimental results show that with increasing cooling rate, the quantity of the solid solution phase increases and the fraction of secondary phase Mg17Al12 decreases. The almost single solid solution phase can be obtained with using liquid nitrogen as a coolant. The compressive strengths of the rapid solidified AZ91 magnesium alloys are higher than those of normal cast alloy, and decrease with increasing cooling rate. After artificial aging treatment for 14 h at 168 ℃, the compressive strength of the rapidly solidified AZ91 magnesium alloy cooled in liquid nitrogen increases from 253.5 to 335.3 MPa, while the compressive yield strength increases from 138.1 to 225.91 MPa. The improvement in the compressive strength of the rapidly solidified AZ9 lmagnesium alloys can be attributed to the hardening effect from fine secondary phase.     

Effect of Solution Treatment on Microstructure and Corrosion Properties of Mg–4Gd–1Y–1Zn–0.5Ca–1Zr Alloy

The as-cast multi-element Mg–4Gd–1Y–1Zn–0.5Ca–1Zr alloy with low rare earth additions was prepared, and the solution treatment was applied at different temperatures. The microstructural evolution of the alloy was characterized by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and corrosion properties of the alloy in 3.5% NaCl solution were evaluated by immersion and electrochemical tests. The results indicate that the as-cast alloy is composed of the a-Mg matrix,lamellar long-period stacking-ordered(LPSO) structure and eutectic phase. The LPSO structure exists with more volume fraction in the alloy solution-treated at 440 °C, but disappears with the increase in the solution temperature. For all the solution-treated alloys, the precipitated phases are detected. The corrosion rates of the alloys decrease first and then increase slightly with the increase in the solution temperature, and the corrosion resistance of the solution-treated alloys is more than four times as good as that of the as-cast alloy. In addition, the alloy solution-treated at 480 °C for 6 h shows the best corrosion property.     

Corrosion and wear behavior of an Mg–2Zn–0.2Mn alloy in simulated body fluid

In this work, the corrosion behavior of the ascast and extrusion and aging treatment Mg–2Zn–0.2Mn alloy in simulated body fluid(SBF) were studied. The wear behavior of Mg–2Zn–0.2Mn alloy was investigated using pin-on-disk technique and stainless steel as counterbody under a constant sliding velocity at different loads ranging from 2 to 5 N with deionized water and SBF as lubrication.The results showed that the extrusion and aging treatment Mg–2Zn–0.2Mn alloy exhibited better corrosion resistance compared with the as-cast alloy due to finer average grain size, more homogeneous phase distribution, and decrease in porosity. The friction coefficient of fractional pair under SBF and deionized water lubrication were obviously lower than that of dry sliding condition. However, the wear rate of Mg–2Zn–0.2Mn alloy under SBF lubrication was higher than that of dry sliding and deionized water lubrication due to the corrosiveness of SBF accelerated the wear of the magnesium alloy. The magnesium alloy exhibited different wear mechanisms with the variety of loads and lubrication conditions.     

Quantitative microstructure and fatigue life of B319 casting alloys

In this study, the microstructure of B319 casting alloys and effects of five different casting conditions on microstructure were studied. Multi-sc ale microstructure was quantified in terms of secondary dendrite arm spacing(SDAS), and Si particle size and aspect ratio. The effects of SDAS, Si aspect ratio and size on fatigue life were analyzed. The results indicate that the size and aspect ratio of Si particles are a function of SDAS which is dependent on cooling rate during solidification. The fatigue life decreases with SDAS increasing as SDAS is smaller than 30 μm while it increases with SDAS increasing as SDAS is larger than 60 μm. In addition, the fatigue life decreases with Si aspect ratio and size increasing at the same SDAS. Moreover, SDAS and Si particles have also influence on fatigue fracture, such as the area of cracks propagation region and the roughness of fatigue fracture. The cracks propagation area is smaller, and the fatigue fracture is similar to tensile fracture with larger SDAS. Besides, the longitudinal section of fatigue fracture is rougher with large SDAS and elongated Si particles.     

Effects of yttrium on microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-Zn-Cu-Zr alloys

The effects of yttrium addition on microstructure and mechanical properties of as-cast Mg-6Zn-3Cu-0.6Zr-xY(x=0,0.5, 1.0,1.5 and 2.0,mass fraction,%)(ZCK630+xY for short in this study)alloys were investigated by means of OM,XRD and SEM. The results show that the average grain size of Mg-Zn-Cu-Zr magnesium alloy is effectively reduced(from 57μm to 39μm)by Y addition.The analysis of XRD indicates the existence of I-phase(Mg3Zn6Y)and W-phase(Mg3Zn3Y2)in ZCK630 alloys with Y addition.The ultimate tensile strength of ZCK630 alloys is significantly deteriorated with increasing Y addition,which is possibly related to the continuous networks of intergranular phases and the increase of W-phase.     

Effect of Zener–Hollomon Parameter on High-Temperature Deformation Behaviors of Mg–6Zn–1.5Y–0.5Ce–0.4Zr Alloy

High-temperature compressive deformation behaviors of Mg–6Zn–1.5Y–0.5Ce–0.4Zr alloy were investigated at temperatures and strain rates ranging from 523 to 673 K and from 0.001 to 1 s~(-1),respectively.The studied alloy was mainly composed ofα-Mg,Mg _(3 )Zn _(6 )Y (I phase),Mg–Zn–Ce and Mg _(3 )Zn _(3 )Y _(2 )(W phase).The constitutive equation of Mg alloy was obtained,and the apparent activation energy (Q) was determined as 200.44 k J/mol,indicating that rare earth phase increases the difficulty of deformation.The work hardening involves three stages:(1) linear hardening stage;(2) strain hardening stage;and (3)softening and steady-state stage.During these three stages,the dislocation aggregation and tangling,dynamic recovery and recrystallization occur sequentially.To characterize the dynamic recrystallization (DRX) volume fraction,the DRX kinetics was investigated using the Avrami-type equation.The deformation mechanism of magnesium alloy under different Zener–Hollomon parameter (Z) value conditions was also studied.At high Z values and intermediate conditions,dislocations rapidly generate and pile up in the alloy.Recrystallization is hardly seen at this time.At low Z condition,the DRX occurs in the alloy.     

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 properties,and corrosion resistance of Mg–9Li–3Al–1.6Y alloy

Mg–9Li–3Al–1.6Y alloys were prepared through mixture method. The microstructure, mechanical properties, and corrosion resistance of the as-cast and asextruded alloys were studied by optical microscopy(OM),scanning electronic microscopy(SEM), X-ray diffraction(XRD), mechanical properties testing, and electrochemical measurement. The as-cast Mg–9Li–3Al–1.6Y alloy with the average grain size of 325 lm is composed of b-Li matrix, block a-Mg, and granule Al_2Y phases. After extrusion, the grain size of the as-cast alloy is obviously refined and reaches to 75 lm; the strength and elongation of the extruded alloy are enhanced by 17.20 % and49.45 %, respectively, owing to their fine microstructure and reduction of casting defects. The as-extruded alloy shows better corrosion resistance compared to the as-cast one, which may be related to the low stored energy and dislocation density in the extruded alloy, also the homogenization treatment before extrusion.     

Simulation of α-Al grain formation in high vacuum die-casting Al-Si-Mg alloys with multi-component quantitative cellular automaton method

Al-Si-Mg alloys are the most commonly used material in high vacuum die-casting(HVDC),in which the morphology and distribution ofα-Al grains have important effect on mechanical properties.A multi-component quantitative cellular automaton(CA)model was developed to simulate the microstructure and microsegregation of HVDC Al-Si-Mg alloys with different Si contents(7%and 10%)and cooling rates during solidification.The grain number and average grain size with electron backscatter diffraction(EBSD)analysis were used to verify the simulation.The relationship between grain size and nucleation order as well as nuclei density was investigated and discussed.It is found that the growth of grains will be restrained in the location with higher nuclei density.The influence of composition and cooling rate on the solute transport reveals that for AlSi7Mg0.3 alloy the concentration of solute Mg in liquid is higher at the beginning of eutectic solidification.The comparison between simulation and experiment results shows that externally solidified crystals(ESCs)have a significant effect for samples with high cooling rate and narrow solidification interval.     

Study on primary carbides precipitation in H13 tool steel regarding cooling rate during solidification

This study aims to investigate the primary carbides precipitation in H13 steel solidified at relatively high cooling rates, ranging from 300 to 6,000 ℃·min~(-1), based on in situ observations with a high temperature confocal laser scanning microscope. In the cooling rate range investigated, the solidification microstructure becomes more refined as cooling rate increases and the relationship between the secondary dendrite arm spacing(SDAS), λ_2, and cooling rate,.T, can be expressed as λ_2=128.45.T~(-0.124). Regardless of cooling rates, two kinds of primary carbides, i.e., the Mo-Cr-rich and V-rich carbides, are precipitated along the interdendritic region and most of them are the Mo-Cr-rich carbides. The morphology of Mo-Cr-rich carbide is not obviously influenced by the cooling rate, but that of V-rich carbide is obviously affected. The increasing cooling rate markedly refines the primary carbides and reduces their volume fractions, but their precipitations cannot be inhibited even when the cooling rate is increased to 6,000 ℃·min~(-1). Besides, the segregation ratios(SRs) of the carbides forming elements are not obviously affected by the cooling rate. However, compared with the conventionally cast ingot, the SDAS and primary carbides in the steel solidified at the investigated cooling rates are much finer, morphologies of the carbides have changed significantly, and SRs of the carbides forming elements are markedly greater. The variation of primary carbide characteristics with cooling rate is mainly due to the change in SDAS.