Effect of ageing treatment on microstructures,mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of Mg-Zn-RE-Zr alloy micro-alloyed with Ca and Sr

Effects of ageing treatment on the microstructures,mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of the Mg-4.2Zn-1.7RE-0.8Zr-xCa-ySr[x=0,0.2(wt.%),y=0,0.1,0.2,0.4(wt.%)]alloys were investigated.Results showed that Ca or/and Sr additions promoted the precipitation hardening behavior of Mg-4.2Zn-1.7RE-0.8Zr alloy and shortened the time to reaching peak hardness from 13 h to 12 h.The maximum hardness of 77.1±0.6 HV for the peak-aged Mg-4.2Zn-1.7RE-0.8Zr-0.2Ca-0.2Sr alloy was obtained.The microstructures of peak-aged alloys mainly consist ofα-Mg phase,Mg_(51)Zn_(20) phase and ternary T-phase.The Zn-Zr phase is formed within theα-Mg matrix,and the Mg_(2)Ca phase is formed near T-phase due to the enrichment of Ca in front of the solid-liquid interface.Furthermore,fine short rod-shapedβ′1 phase is precipitated within theα-Mg matrix in the peak-aged condition.The peak-aged Mg-4.2Zn-1.7RE-0.8Zr-0.2Ca-0.2Sr alloy exhibits optimal mechanical properties with an ultimate tensile strength of 208 MPa,yield strength of 150 MPa and elongation of 3.5%,which is mainly attributed to precipitation strengthening.In addition,corrosion properties of experimental alloys in the 3.5wt.%NaCl solution were studied by the electrochemical tests,weight loss,hydrogen evolution measurement and corrosion morphology observation.The results suggest that peak-aged alloys show reduced corrosion rates compared with the as-cast alloys,and minor additions of Ca and/or Sr improve the corrosion resistance of the Mg-4.2Zn-1.7RE-0.8Zr alloy.The peak-aged Mg-4.2Zn-1.7RE-0.8Zr-0.2Ca-0.2Sr alloy possesses the best corrosion resistance,which is mainly due to the continuous and compact barrier wall constructed by the homogeneous and continuous second phases.

Manipulating Precipitation Through Thermomechanical Treatment to Control Corrosion Behavior of an Al–Cu–Mg Alloy

Controlling the precipitation through thermomechanical treatment is an important method to improve the corrosion resistance of Al–Cu–Mg alloys. In this study, the corrosion behaviors of Al–Cu–Mg alloys in the solution-treated state and retrogressiontreated state under cold rolling deformation and then natural aging were investigated. In the solution-treated series alloys, the cold-rolled deformation improved the resistance to intergranular corrosion by suppressing the precipitation of the S-phase on the grain boundaries. The increased pitting potential and corrosion potential were related to the increased concentration of solute atoms within the grain interiors and the eliminated S-phase on grain boundaries. In the retrogression-treated series alloys, the 30% cold rolling deformation stimulated the growth of the S-phase and transformed the S-phase distribution from discontinuous to continuous on the grain boundaries, thereby changing the pitting corrosion to the network corrosion morphology. The precipitation of the S-phase with large dimension within the grain interiors contributed to the decreased pitting potential and corrosion potential.