Metallurgical assessment of an emerging Al–Zn–Mg–Cu P/M alloy

The objective of this work was to conduct a detailed assessment of the microstructure and mechanical properties of an emerging Al–Zn–Mg–Cu powder metallurgy (P/M) alloy known as Alumix 431D. A variety of techniques were considered including optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, electron-probe micro-analysis, thermal dilatometry, and differential scanning calorimetry as well as apparent hardness, tensile testing, and bending fatigue. Alumix 431D exhibited many of the same attributes found in wrought counter parts such as 7075. A sintered density of approximately 99% of theoretical was achieved, indicating that the alloy was highly responsive to sintering. Once heat treated, a T6 hardness of 86 HRB and a room temperature ultimate tensile strength of 448 MPa were noted. Thermal analyses implied that the precipitation behaviour of Alumix 431D closely mimicked comparable 7XXX series wrought alloys and was largely premised on the precipitation of η-phase variants. Tensile properties of the alloy in a T1 temper were found to be relatively stable at temperatures up to 150 °C and 1000 h of exposure time. Those of T6 specimens degraded under the same exposure conditions to the point where equivalency with the T1 product was noted.     

Experimental Study on the Effect of Cooling Rate on the Secondary Phase in As‐Cast Mg–Gd–Y–Zr Alloy

The effect of cooling rate on the composition, morphology, size, and volume fraction of the secondary phase in as‐cast Mg–Gd–Y–Zr alloy is investigated. In the study, a casting containing five steps with thickness of 10–50 mm is produced, in which cooling rate ranging from 2.6 to 11.0 K s^?1 is created. The secondary phase is characterized using optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and electron probe micro‐analyzer (EPMA). The volume fraction of the secondary phase is determined using OM and quantitative metallographic analysis, and Vickers hardness test is conducted to verify the analysis results. The effect of the cooling rate on the volume fraction of the secondary phase is discussed in detail. The result shows that with the increase of the cooling rate, the size of the secondary phase decreases. The effect of the cooling rate on the volume fraction of the secondary phase is complicated somewhat. A comprehensive analysis on the experimental data shows that a critical cooling rate may exist, over which the volume fraction of the secondary phase decreases with the increase of the cooling rate, however under which the volume fraction increases with the increase of the cooling rate.