Influence of Ca addition on the dynamic and static recrystallization behavior of direct extruded flat profiles of Mg-Y-Zn alloy

This paper investigates the influence of addition of Ca in a Y-Zn-containing magnesium alloy on the dynamic and static recrystallization behaviors and reveals the formation mechanism of the quadrupole texture during thermomechanical processing. Direct extrusion of flat bands has been conducted at various process conditions to study the difference between the two alloys WZ10 and WZX100 in terms of microstructure and texture development. It can be shown that, Ca addition promotes the DRX of WZ10 alloy. During additional heat treatment,the absence of Y segregation at the grain boundaries and the associated lack of solute drag to the boundary mobility leads to a pronounced grain growth during SRX in WZX100 alloy. Furthermore, it is shown that the addition of Ca to Y-Zn is not beneficial in terms of formability.It is demonstrated that alloying elements can have different effects depending on the recrystallization mechanisms. Partially recrystallized microstructure is a prerequisite at the as-extruded status to form the quadrupole texture and during subsequent annealing, which stands for high formability.

Effects of Ca and Nd addition on plastic instability in extruded Mg-Mn alloy deformed under various conditions

Plastic instability, called Portevin-Le-Chatelier(PLC) effect, manifests itself as an unstable plastic flow during tensile tests of structural materials. This phenomenon has a strong influence on diverse properties, leading to unexpected vulnerabilities in the service environment.Among various magnesium-based alloys, PLC phenomenon is most prominently observed in the Mg-Mn-Nd alloy under elevated temperature and low strain rate conditions. An important aim of the study is to clarify and compare the significance of the RE and Ca addition, which are known to cause a formation of a largely weakened non-basal type texture, in the occurrence of plastic instability. Due to the PLC phenomenon, there is a risk of weakening texture and formability improvement by the addition of RE and Ca elements in Mg alloys. Based on the understanding of the role of Nd to the PLC phenomenon in Mg-Mn alloy identified in previous studies, the PLC characteristics according to alloying elements and deformation conditions were compared and analyzed. To identify the micromechanical mechanisms of the PLC phenomenon, varies in the microstructure and mechanical properties during deformation of Mg-Mn binary and Ca or Nd-containing Mg-Mn-based ternary alloys in various conditions were systemically analyzed. The addition of Ca did not show a marked PLC effect due to the formation of low number density Mn-Ca and Ca-Ca solute clusters and an unbalanced Mn:Ca ratio. In contrast, the addition of Nd leads to the formation of a higher number density of Nd-Nd and Mn-Nd solute clusters than that of Ca-Ca and Mn-Ca solute clusters of the Mg-Mn-Ca alloy, resulting in a stable solute-dislocation interaction atmosphere under specific ranges of deformation temperature and strain rate. The deformation in the regime of PLC phenomenon, results in a decrease in ductility and an increase in strength, despite deformation at elevated temperatures with maintaining the weakened texture.

Understanding the corrosion of Mg alloys in in vitro urinary tract conditions: A step forward towards a biodegradable metallic ureteral stent

Ureteral stents play a fundamental role in modern time urology. However, following the deployment, stent-related symptoms are frequent and affect patient health and quality of life. Using biodegradable metals as ureteral stent materials have emerged as a promising strategy, mainly due to the improved radial force and slower degradation rate expected. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize different biodegradable metals in urinary tract environment to understand their propensity for future utilization as base materials for ureteral stents. The corrosion of 5 Mg alloys - AZ31, Mg-1Zn, Mg-1Y, pure Mg, and Mg-4Ag - under simulated urinary tract conditions was accessed. The corrosion layer of the different alloys presented common elements, such as Mg(OH)_(2), MgO, and phosphate-containing products, but slight variations in their chemical compositions were detected. The corrosion rate of the different metals varied, which was expected given the differences in the corrosion layers. On top of this, the findings of this study highlighted the significant differences in the samples' corrosion and corrosion layers when in stagnant and flowing conditions. With the results of this study, we concluded that Mg-1Zn and Mg-4Ag presented a higher propensity for localized corrosion, probably due to a less protective corrosion layer;Mg-4Ag corroded faster than all the other four alloys,and Mg-1Y stood out due to its distinct corrosion pattern, that showed to be more homogeneous than all the other four samples, making this one more attractive for the future studies on biodegradable metals.

Alloying effect of silver in magnesium on the development of microstructure and mechanical properties by indirect extrusion

The effect of Ag in solid solution on the microstructure,texture and the deformation behaviour of indirectly extruded Mg was investigated.Ag as a solid solution strengthener affects the behaviour during extrusion,resulting in enhanced deformation related heating and corresponding coarser grained microstructures.No substantial effect on the texture development is revealed.The mechanical properties simultaneously increase in stress and strain levels with increasing Ag content,especially in tension as a result of the changing impact of the slip modes which can be associated with a decrease of the lattice parameters as well as the c/a ratio of the hcp lattice structure.In compression tests with twin dominated flow,the impact is much smaller on the compressive yield stress but higher with respect to the twinning related strain hardening rate.Solid solution strength functions for Fleischer and Labusch were determined,also confirming the anisotropic behaviour of the extruded Mg alloys.

Plastic instability and texture modification in extruded Mg-Mn-Nd alloy

Even though Mg alloys containing Mn and rare earth elements lead to higher ductility and lower yield asymmetry due to the weak texture after extrusion, plastic instability, commonly known as the Portevin–Le Chatelier(PLC) effect, causes unexpected fragility in the service environment. In the present study, the PLC phenomenon and texture development during the deformation of Mg-Mn and Mg-Mn-Nd extruded alloys were investigated under various temperatures and strain rates. The addition of Nd causes not only texture weakening but also severe PLC phenomenon. The PLC phenomenon was significantly affected by the temperatures and the strain rates, which causes a difference in mechanical properties and development of texture. In the conditions of high temperature and low strain rate, the strength increased while the elongation decreased significantly, and obvious PLC phenomenon with severe serration and negative strain rate sensitivity. The initial texture was maintained even after deformation only under severe PLC conditions, and this is due to the restriction of basal slip and suppression of lattice rotation in PLC conditions. The series of results indicate that the PLC phenomenon causes a reduction of formability even at high temperature.

Biocompatibility and electrochemical evaluation of ZrO_(2) thin films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering on MgZnCa alloy

Biodegradable magnesium alloys are promising candidates for temporary fracture fixation devices in orthopedics;nevertheless,its fast degradation rate at the initial stage after implantation remains as one of the main challenges to be resolved.ZrO_(2)-based coatings to reduce the degradation rate of the Mg-implants are an attractive solution since they show high biocompatibility and stability.In this work,the degradation,cytotoxicity,and antibacterial performance of ZrO_(2)thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering on a Mg-Zn-Ca alloy was evaluated.Short-term degradation of ZrO_(2)-coated and uncoated samples was assessed considering electrochemical techniques and H_(2)evolution(gas chromatography).Additionally,long term degradation was assessed by mass-loss measurements.The results showed that a 380 nm ZrO_(2)coating reduces the degradation rate and H_(2)evolution of the alloy during the initial 3 days after immersion but allows the degradation of the bare alloy for the long-term.The ZrO_(2)coating does not compromise the biocompatibility of the alloy and permits better cell adhesion and proliferation of mesenchymal stem cells directly on its surface,in comparison to the bare alloy.Finally,the ZrO_(2)coating prevents the adhesion and biofilm formation of S.aureus.