Effect of high pressure on microstructure of cast Mg-8Zn-0.5Zr-0.5Gd alloy

Mg-8Zn-0.5Zr-0.5Gd alloy was prepared by high pressure solidification. Effect of high pressure on microstructure, micro-hardness and corrosion behavior in Hank's solution of the Mg-8Zn-0.5Zr-0.5Gd alloy were investigated by means of optical microscopy(OM), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS), and X-ray diffractometer(XRD). The results showed that, compared with the conventional solidification, high pressure solidification obviously refined the grain size of Mg-8Zn-0.5Zr-0.5Gd alloy. The grain size was refined from 200-300 μm to 100-200 μm and the secondary dendrite arm spacing reduced from 30-50 μm to 10-30 μm. Moreover, the solubility of Zn in the alloy increased and the amount and size of Mg-Zn-Gd phases significantly decreased. The micro-hardness of the alloy solidified under high pressure was improved significantly from 56.17 HV to 63.14 HV. The polarization resistance(Rp) of the alloy had a substantial increase in simulated body fl uid, thus the corrosion rate was significantly reduced from 4.0 to 2.7 mm·year-1.

Mg-8Zn-0.5Zr-0.5Gd alloy was prepared by high pressure solidification. Effect of high pressure on microstructure, micro-hardness and corrosion behavior in Hank＇s solution of the Mg-8Zn-0.5Zr-0.5Gd alloy were investigated by means of optical microscopy （OM）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, energy dispersive spectroscopy （EDS）, and X-ray diffractometer （XRD）. The results showed that, compared with the conventional solidification, high pressure solidification obviously refined the grain size of Mg-8Zn-0.5Zr-0.5Gd alloy. The grain size was refined from 200-300 pm to 100-200 pm and the secondary dendrite arm spacing reduced from 30- 50 pm to 10-30 pro. Moreover, the solubility of Zn in the alloy increased and the amount and size of Mg-Zn-Gd phases significantly decreased. The micro-hardness of the alloy solidified under high pressure was improved significantly from 56.17 HV to 63.14 HV. The polarization resistance （Rp） of the alloy had a substantial increase in simulated body fluid, thus the corrosion rate was significantly reduced from 4.0 to 2.7 mm.year-1.