Effects of ultrasonic treatment on microstructures of AZ91 alloy

Effects of ultrasonic treatment on microstructures were investigated by introducing the ultrasonic oscillation into AZ91 alloy melts. The results show that the ultrasonic treatment does not change the phase composition but has great influence on solidification microstructures. The area percentage of lamellar eutectic phase increases to the maximum when the applied ultrasonic power is increased to 600 W and then decreases gradually with the further increase of power;meanwhile, the average area of Al8Mn5 phase owns a completely opposing variation trend. The area percentage of Mg17Al12 decreases gradually with increasing the applied ultrasonic power. Mechanisms accounted for the refinement and fraction of different intermetallic phases were also discussed.

Microstructure evolution of AZ91 alloy processed by a combination method of equal channel angular pressing and rolling

In the present work,AZ91 alloy was successfully processed by equal channel angular pressing(ECAP)for up to 16 passes and rolling(R)for multiple passes with a total reduction of 75%in addition to a combination method with ECAP plus rolling(ECAP+R).The effects of various processes(ECAP,R and ECAP+R)on microstructure evolution were analyzed and the influence of ECAP process on the rolling performance was examined.The result shows that ECAP contributed to a homogenous grain structure and formed a texture with higher Schmidt factors that was easy for rolling.A plate with smoother surface and reduced edge cracks was observed in the ECAP+R process than in the single R process.Although the microstructure of the alloy was similar after ECAP+R and R process,the sample of ECAP+R was more refined and had stronger second phase precipitation than the sample of R,which resulted in better rolling characteristics,along with the external surfaces.

Mechanical properties and microstructures of a wrought AZ91 alloy

Effects of hot plastic deformation on microstructures and tensile propertiesof AZ91 alloy were investigated. Compared with as-T4 microstructures, the as-extruded samples ofAZ91 alloy with fine grains exhibit better strength and ductility due to dynamic recrystallization.The succeeded rotation forging also provides finer grains while the strength increases, but theelongation decreases. Simultaneously, wrought AZ91 alloy shows more balance properties than as-T4condition ones. An interesting elongation of 228.5% is attained in the as-extruded AZ91 alloy inspite of the coarse grains with the size of 85 μm. The two-step method enhances the superplasticproperty of AZ91 alloy. The microstructure is still keeping the same scale of grains aftersuperplastic testing.

Estimation of wear performance of AZ91 alloy under dry sliding conditions using machine learning methods

The wear behavior of AZ91 alloy was investigated by considering different parameters,such as load(10−50 N),sliding speed(160−220 mm/s)and sliding distance(250−1000 m).It was found that wear volume loss increased as load increased for all sliding distances and some sliding speeds.For sliding speed of 220 mm/s and sliding distance of 1000 m,the wear volume losses under loads of 10,20,30,40 and 50 N were calculated to be 15.0,19.0,24.3,33.9 and 37.4 mm3,respectively.Worn surfaces show that abrasion and oxidation were present at a load of 10 N,which changes into delamination at a load of 50 N.ANOVA results show that the contributions of load,sliding distance and sliding speed were 12.99%,83.04%and 3.97%,respectively.The artificial neural networks(ANN),support vector regressor(SVR)and random forest(RF)methods were applied for the prediction of wear volume loss of AZ91 alloy.The correlation coefficient(R2)values of SVR,RF and ANN for the test were 0.9245,0.9800 and 0.9845,respectively.Thus,the ANN model has promising results for the prediction of wear performance of AZ91 alloy.

Understanding pitting corrosion behavior of AZ91 alloy and its MAO coating in 3.5%NaCl solution by cyclic potentiodynamic polarization

The pitting corrosion behavior of AZ91 alloy before and after micro-oxidation treatment in 3.5%Na Cl solution was investigated by cyclic potentiodynamic polarization(CPDP)and optical and SEM observations of corroded surfaces at different polarization potentials.The CPDP results show that both the alloy and the MAO-coated alloy suffer from pitting corrosion and it is difficult for pits to stop growth once the pits initiates.It is revealed that the air-formed Mg O film on AZ91 alloy,the MAO coating along with corrosion products(mainly Mg(OH))formed during CPDP can significantly influence the kinetics of the redox reactions of Mg,and further influence the propagation behavior of pitting corrosion.The optical and SEM images show that the corrosion products on AZ91 alloy are dense and protective but on the MAO-coated corrosion products are very loose.Such observations support the analyses of CPDP results that pits on AZ91 alloy spread to the width whereas pits on MAO-coated alloy propagate to the depth.Overall,pitting corrosion on the MAO-coated alloy can be very severe once the coating ruptures and post-treatments are necessary to provide a promising corrosion protection for the Mg alloys.

Texture evolution in AZ91 alloy after hot rolling and annealing

A commercial AZ91 magnesium alloy with a random initial texture was subjected to homogenization heat treatment （solution annealing） at 450 ℃. This resulted in the appearance of a weak triple （0001）-（10]-0）-（1120） fibber texture. After hot rolling at 400 ℃, the deformation texture was typically （0001） basal with splitting of the basal poles in the rolling direction. After annealing at 450℃ for 36 h, the annealing texture was the retained deformation texture with more homogeneous distribution of poles around the ideal basal orientation. There was no trace of abnormal grain growth.

Effect of elements Zn, Sn and In on microstructures and performances of AZ91 alloy

A new magnesium alloy plate added elements Zn, Sn and In was manufactured by twin-roll continuous casting method to improve the precipitation of AZ91 alloy. The effects of elements addition and casting method on microstructure and mechanical properties of the Mg-Zn-In-Sn alloys were investigated by optical microscopy (OM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and energy dispersion spectrograph (EDS). The results show that the Mg-Zn-In-Sn alloy has higher tensile strength and better corrosion protection than the AZ91 alloy. The outstanding precipitation strengthening effect of the alloy is attributed to the small grain size and the hard precipitates between the grain boundaries.

Structure and wear resistance of TiN and TiAlN coatings on AZ91 alloy deposited by multi-arc ion plating

In order to investigate the microstructure of TiN and TiAlN coatings and their effect on the wear resistance of Mg alloy, TiN and TiAlN coatings were deposited on AZ91 magnesium alloy by multi-arc ion plating technology.TiN and Ti70Al30N coatings were prepared on the substrate,respectively,which exhibited dark golden color and compact microstructure.The microstructures of TiN and Ti70Al30N coatings were investigated by X-ray diffractometry(XRD)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM).The micro-hardness and wear resistance of TiN and Ti70Al30N coatings were investigated in comparison with the uncoated AZ91 alloy. The XRD peaks assigned to TiN and TiAlN phases are found.The hardness of TiN coatings is two times as high as that of AZ91 alloy, and Ti70Al30N coating exhibits the highest hardness.The wear resistance of the hard coatings increases obviously as result of their high hardness.

Effects of combined addition of Y and Ca on microstructure and mechanical properties of die casting AZ91 alloy

A series of die casting heat-resistant magnesium alloys based on Mg-Al system were developed for automotive application by adding Y and various amounts of Ca. The mechanical properties and microstructures of die casting AZ91 alloy with combined addition of Y and Ca were investigated by optical microscopy, scanning electronic microscopy, X-ray diffractometry and mechanical property test. The results show that the combined addition of Y and Ca can refine the as-die-cast microstructure, result in the formation of Al2Ca phase and Al2Y phase, and inhibit the precipitation of Mg17Al12 phase. The combined addition of Y and small amount of Ca has little influence on the ambient temperature tensile properties, but increasing the content of Ca can improve significantly the tensile strength at both ambient and elevated temperatures. It is found that for AZ91-1Y-xCa alloy, the hardness and the elevated temperature tensile strength increase, while the elongation decreases with increasing the addition of Ca. The mechanism of mechanical properties improvement caused by the combined addition of Y and Ca was also discussed.

Influence of Al-5Ti-1B master alloy addition on the grain size of AZ91 alloy

The mechanical properties of castings depend on the grain size.There is evidence that titanium and boron(Al-5Ti-1B master alloy)affect the grain size of magnesium alloys.Here,the influence of the addition of 0-1 wt.%of Al-5Ti-1B master alloy on the grain size of AZ91 magnesium alloy was investigated.Melting of the alloy was performed in steel and corundum crucibles.To study the effect of cooling rate on grain size,cylindrical samples were cast in steel and fireclay molds.The Al-5Ti-1B master alloy addition did not change the phase composition of the AZ91 alloy.This study demonstrates that the addition of Al-5Ti-1B did not contribute to the grain refinement of the AZ91 alloy,but rather led to its coarsening for samples cast in both the steel and fireclay molds.Increasing the holding time after the addition of the Al-5Ti-1B master alloy from 15 to 110 minutes also did not lead to significant grain coarsening.The mechanical properties of the AZ91 alloy samples slightly improved after Al-5Ti-1B addition.

Effect of Room Temperature Ultrasonic Vibration Compression on the Microstructure Evolution and Mechanical Properties of AZ91 Alloy

To investigate the potential of direct ultrasonic vibration on improving the performance of magnesium alloys,this study first employed the ultrasonic vibration compression(UVC)on the solid solution treated AZ91 alloy,and explored its microstructure evolution and mechanical properties under UVC.Within only two seconds,the UVC alloys showed large deformation strains of 34.8–54.4%,and sudden increase of sample temperature to 243℃.Microstructure characterizations proved that UVC promoted the formation of abundant shear bands,fine grains,and the bimodal distribution of Mg17Al12 precipitates consisting of submicron particles located within the shear bands and nano-sized ones within the matrix.Owing to the unique microstructure,the micro-hardness(and nano-hardness)value of UVC alloy was increased by 37.7%(35%)when compared with the solution-treated alloy.Moreover,the nano-modulus of the developed AZ91 alloy was also significantly increased to 62 GPa by statistical nanoindentation tests,which could be ascribed to increased Mg_(17)Al_(12) precipitates and decreased c/a value to some extent.In general,this work provides a new insight into the design and preparation of high-performance magnesium alloys by UVC at room temperature.

Mechanism of microarc oxidation on AZ91D Mg alloy induced byβ-Mg_(17)Al_(12) phase

This work proposed a strategy of indirectly inducing uniform microarc discharge by controlling the content and distribution ofβ-Mg_(17)Al_(12)phase in AZ91D Mg alloy.Two kinds of nano-particles(ZrO_(2)and TiO_(2))were designed to be added into the substrate of Mg alloy by friction stir processing(FSP).Then,Mg alloy sample designed with different precipitated morphology ofβ-Mg_(17)Al_(12)phase was treated by microarc oxidation(MAO)in Na_(3)PO_(4)/Na2SiO3electrolyte.The characteristics and performance of the MAO coating was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy(SEM),energy dispersive spectrometer(EDS),X-ray diffraction(XRD),X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),contact angle meter,and potentiodynamic polarization.It was found that the coarseα-Mg grains in extruded AZ91D Mg alloy were refined by FSP,and theβ-Mg_(17)Al_(12)phase with reticular structure was broken and dispersed.The nano-ZrO_(2)particles were pinned at the grain boundary by FSP,which refined theα-Mg grain and promoted the precipitation ofβ-Mg_(17)Al_(12)phase in grains.It effectively inhibited the“cascade”phenomenon of microarcs,which induced the uniform distribution of discharge pores.The MAO coating on Zr-FSP sample had good wettability and corrosion resistance.However,TiO_(2)particles were hardly detected in the coating on TiFSP sample.

Microstructural evolution of AZ91 magnesium alloy during extrusion and heat treatment

Microstructural evolution of AZ91 magnesium alloy was investigated during homogenizing annealing treatment, hot extrusion and ageing treatment, respectively. The results exhibited that both the divorced eutectic β-Mg17Al12 and the precipitated β-Mg17Al12 phases appeared in the as-cast alloy. The β-Mg17Al12 phase dissolved into α-Mg matrix mostly and the structure kept fine after the optimized homogenization treatment at 380 °C for 15 h. Dynamic recrystallization and consequent grain refinement occurred during extrusion. The banded β-Mg17Al12 precipitates paralleled to the extrusion direction were observed after ageing treatment. The banded precipitation should be attributed to the solidification segregation which was elongated during the subsequent extrusion. Furthermore, the effects of temperature, holding time of homogenization and ageing treatment, and extrusion processing parameters on the microstructural evolution of AZ91 alloy were also discussed in details according to the experimental results.

Corrosion behavior of micro-arc oxidation coating on AZ91D magnesium alloy in NaCl solutions with different concentrations

Ceramic oxide coatings were prepared on AZ91D magnesium alloys in alkaline silicate solution using micro-arc oxidation（MAO） technique.The corrosion behavior of MAO coating on AZ91D magnesium alloys in NaCl solutions with different concentrations（0.1%,0.5%,1.0%,3.5% and 5.0% in mass fraction） was evaluated by electrochemical measurements and immersion tests.The results showed that the corrosion rate of the MAO coated AZ91D increased with increasing chloride ion concentration.The main form of corrosion failure was localized corrosion for the MAO coated AZ91D immersed in higher concentration NaCl solutions（1.0%,3.5% and 5.0%）,while it was general corrosion in dilute NaCl solutions（0.1% and 0.5%）.Two different stages of the failure process of the MAO coated AZ91D could be identified：1） occurrence of the metastable pits and 2） growth of the pits.Different equivalent circuits were also proposed based on the results of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy（EIS） for the MAO coated AZ91D immersed in different concentrations of NaCl solutions for 120 h.

Effect of pouring and mold temperatures on hot tearing susceptibility of AZ91D and Mg-3Nd-0.2Zn-Zr Mg alloys

Pouring and mold temperatures are two important parameters during casting magnesium components. The present study examined their influence on hot tearing susceptibility （HTS） of commercial AZ91D and newly developed Mg-3Nd-0.2Zn-Zr （mass fraction, %; NZ30K） magnesium alloys in gravity permanent mold casting condition. The results indicate that mold temperature shows much more significant influence on the HTS of both alloys than pouring temperature whose influence only can be distinguished at low mold temperature （341 K for AZ91D alloy and 423 K for NZ30K alloy）. Hot tearing susceptibility prediction model concerning feeding parameters, grain size and solidification range, is more suitable to estimate the HTS of different magnesium alloys than the model only concerning feeding parameters. In order to achieve better hot tearing resistance, the ranges of pouring and mold temperatures are suggested to be 961-991 K and≥641 K for AZ91D alloy, 1003-1033 K and≥623 K for NZ30K alloy, respectively.

Effect of current frequency on properties of coating formed by microarc oxidation on AZ91D magnesium alloy

The microarc oxidation（MAO） coatings produced at different current frequencies on AZ91 D magnesium alloys were studied systematically. The morphologies, thickness, corrosion performances, and tribological properties of the coatings were investigated by the scanning electron microscopy, the electrochemical measurement system, and MS-T3000 friction test rig, respectively. The results show that the structure of the coatings becomes denser, and thickness becomes thinner with the increase of the current frequency. It is also found that the corrosion resistance of the coatings produced at higher frequency is improved greatly and the difference of the corrosion current density becomes small with increasing current frequency, which is similar to that of the coating thickness. The tribological test shows that the friction coefficient decreases with increasing the current frequency and the wear resistance of the coatings is influenced by both the thickness and structures. All these results were explained by analyzing the growing process of the MAO coating.

Dynamic recrystallization kinetics of as-cast AZ91D alloy

The flow behavior and dynamic recrystallization（DRX） behavior of an as-cast AZ91 D alloy were investigated systematically by applying the isothermal compression tests in temperature range of 220-380 ℃ and strain rate range of 0.001-1 s^-1.The effect of temperature and strain rate on the DRX behavior was discussed.The results indicate that the nucleation and growth of dynamic recrystallized grains easily occur at higher temperatures and lower strain rates.To evaluate the evolution of dynamic recrystallization,the DRX kinetics model was proposed based on the experimental data of true stress-true strain curves.It was revealed that the volume fraction of dynamic recrystallized grains increased with increasing strain in terms of S-curves.A good agreement between the proposed DRX kinetics model and microstructure observation results validates the accuracy of DRX kinetics model for AZ91 D alloy.

Influence of electric parameters on MAO of AZ91D magnesium alloy using alternative square-wave power source

Micro-arc oxidation （MAO） process was carried out on AZ91D alloy in alkaline borate solution using an alternative square-wave power source with different parameters. The effects of voltage, frequency and duty cycle on the coatings were investigated by orthogonal experiment. It is found that the thickness of coatings increases with the increase of voltage and duty cycle, but decreases with the increase of frequency. The structure and morphology of the coatings also depend on voltage, frequency and duty cycle. The coatings become more porous and crack with increasing voltage and duty cycle. The coating is thin and transparent when the voltage is lower than 120 V. The corrosion resistances of different coatings were evaluated by polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy （EIS） in 3.5% NaCl （mass fraction） solution. When the optimized values of voltage, frequency and duty cycle are 140 V, 2 000 Hz and 0.4, respectively, the anodic coating shows the best corrosion resistance.

Application of cyclic upsetting-extrusion to semi-solid processing of AZ91D magnesium alloy

The microstructural evolution of AZ91D magnesium alloy prepared by means of the cyclic upsetting-extrusion and partial remelting was investigated. The effects of remelting temperature and holding time on microstructure of semi-solid AZ91D magnesium alloy were studied. Furthermore, tensile properties of thixoextruded AZ91D magnesium alloy components were determined. The results show that the cyclic upsetting-extrusion followed by partial remelting is effective in producing semi-solid AZ91D magnesium alloy for thixofonning. During the partial remelting, with the increase of remelting temperature and holding time, the solid grain size increases and the degree of spheroidization tends to be improved. The tensile mechanical properties of thixoextruded AZ91D magnesium alloy components produced by cyclic upsetting-extrusion and partial remelting are better than those of the same alloy produced by casting.

Effects of processing parameters on microstructure of semi-solid slurry of AZ91D magnesium alloy prepared by gas bubbling

The semi-solid slurry of AZ91 D magnesium alloy was prepared by gas bubbling process.The effect of processing parameters,including gas flow rate,cooling rate and stirring end temperature,on microstructure of AZ91 D semi-solid slurry was investigated.With increasing the gas flow rate from 0 to 5 L/min,the average size of primary α-Mg particles decreases from 119.1 to77.2μm and the average shape factor increases continuously from 0.1 to 0.596.The formation of non-dendritic primary α-Mg particles during gas bubbling is the result of combined effects of dendrite fragmentation and copious nucleation.With increasing the cooling rate from 3.6 to 14.6℃/min,the average particle size of primary α-Mg phase decreases from 105.0 to 68.1μm while the average shape factor peaks at 9.1℃/min.Both high and low cooling rates can induce dendritic growth of primary α-Mg particles.Changing the stirring end temperature from 590 to 595℃ has little effect on the average size and shape factor of primary α-Mg particles in AZ91 D semi-solid slurry.The insensitivity of semi-solid microstructures to the stirring end temperature is attributed to the sufficient quantity of primary particles formed in the melt.