Effect of annealing temperature on microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-Zn-Zr-Nd alloy with large final rolling deformation

In this study,the Mg-3Zn-0.5Zr-χNd(χ=0,0.6)alloys were subjected to final rolling treatment with large deformation of 50%.The impact of annealing temperatures on the microstructure and mechanical properties was investigated.The rolled Mg-3Zn-0.5Zr-0.6Nd alloy exhibited an ultimate tensile strength of 386 MPa,a yield strength of 361 MPa,and an elongation of 7.1%.Annealing at different temperatures resulted in reduced strength and obviously increased elongation for both alloys.Optimal mechanical properties for the Mg-3Zn-0.5Zr-0.6Nd alloy were achieved after annealing at 200℃,with an ultimate tensile strength of 287 MPa,a yield strength of 235 MPa,and an elongation of 26.1%.The numerous deformed microstructures,twins,and precipitated phases in the rolled alloy could impede the deformation at room temperature and increase the work hardening rate.After annealing,a decrease in the work hardening effect and an increase in the dynamic recovery effect were obtained due to the formation of fine equiaxed grains,and the increased volume fraction of precipitated phases,which significantly improved the elongation of the alloy.Additionally,the addition of Nd element could enhance the annealing recrystallization rate,reduce the Schmid factor difference between basal and prismatic slip systems,facilitate multi-system slip initiation and improve the alloy plasticity.

Effect of cold rolling deformation on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of spray formed Al−Zn−Mg−Cu−Cr alloys

The impact of cold rolling deformation,which was introduced after solid solution and before aging treatment,on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of the as-extruded spray formed Al−9.8Zn−2.3Mg−1.73Cu−0.13Cr(wt.%)alloy,was investigated.SEM,TEM,and EBSD were used to analyze the microstructures,and tensile tests were conducted to assess mechanical properties.The results indicate that the D1-T6 sample,subjected to 25%cold rolling deformation,exhibits finer grains(3.35μm)compared to the D0-T6 sample(grain size of 4.23μm)without cold rolling.Cold rolling refines the grains that grow in solution treatment.Due to the combined effects of finer and more dispersed precipitates,higher dislocation density and smaller grains,the yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of the D1-T6 sample can reach 663 and 737 MPa,respectively.In comparison to the as-extruded and D0-T6 samples,the yield strength of the D1-T6 sample increases by 415 and 92 MPa,respectively.

Evolution of mechanical properties,localized corrosion resistance and microstructure of a high purity Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy during non-isothermal aging

The evolution of mechanical properties,localized corrosion resistance of a high purity Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy during non-isothermal aging(NIA)was investigated by hardness test,electrical conductivity test,tensile test,intergranular corrosion test,exfoliation corrosion test,slow strain rate tensile test and electrochemical test,and the mechanism has been discussed based on microstructure examination by optical microscopy,electron back scattered diffraction,scanning electron microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy.The NIA treatment includes a heating stage from 40℃to 180℃with a rate of 20℃/h and a cooling stage from 180℃to 40℃with a rate of 10℃/h.The results show that the hardness and strength increase rapidly during the heating stage of NIA since the increasing temperature favors the nucleation and the growth of strengthening precipitates and promotes the transformation of Guinier-Preston(GPI)zones toη'phase.During the cooling stage,the sizes ofη'phase increase with a little change in the number density,leading to a further slight increase of the hardness and strength.As NIA proceeds,the corroded morphology in the alloy changes from a layering feature to a wavy feature,the maximum corrosion depth decreases,and the reason has been analyzed based on the microstructural and microchemical feature of precipitates at grain boundaries and subgrain boundaries.

Sn对Mg-6Zn合金显微组织及力学性能的影响

研究了Sn对Mg-6Zn合金显微组织及力学性能的影响。采用光学显微镜、扫描电镜、能谱分析仪、万能试验机等,对Mg-6Zn(x Sn)合金显微组织及力学性能进行分析。结果表明:镁合金中加入Sn可有效改善铸锭组织,形成的Mg2Sn颗粒。少量添加Sn元素,Mg-6Zn铸态合金的强度、伸长率及硬度随Sn含量增加而提高;Sn含量为1.0%时,Mg-6Zn铸态合金强度、伸长率和硬度达到最高。Mg-6Zn铸态合金添加少量Sn,局部区域呈现韧性断裂;Sn含量超过1.5%时,局部区域出现沿晶断裂的特征。

Mg对Zn—27%Al合金组织转变的价电子结构分析

本文首先分析了 ZA27合金的铸态组织,指出其组织组成相为α、β和η。α和β相在固态下将发生一系列转变,η相仅发生长大、粗化和粒化过程。依据“固体与分子经验电子理论”,建立 Al—Zn 二元和 Al—Zn—Mg 三元α(或β)面心立方晶胞的价电子键络模型。计算结果表明:Mg 原子无论是位于面心立方晶胞的面心或是顶角位置,都将加强面心立方晶胞的键络,提高α(或β)晶胞的稳定性,从微观电子结构解释了 Mg 强化合金组织的本质。

Thermodynamic calculation of high zinc-containing Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy

Phase fraction and solidification path of high Zn-containing Al-Zn-Mg-Cu series aluminum alloy were calculated by calculation of phase diagram （CALPHAD） method. Microstructure and phases of Al-9.2Zn-1.7Mg-2.3Cu alloy were studied by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, differential scanning calorimetry （DSC） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The calculation results show that η（MgZn2） phase is influenced by Zn and Mg. Mass fractions of η（MgZn2） in Al-xZn-1.7Mg-2.3Cu are 10.0%, 9.8% and 9.2% for x=9.6, 9.4, 8.8 （mass fraction, %）, respectively. The intervals of Mg composition were achieved for θ（Al2Cu）＋η（MgZn2）, S（Al2CuMg）＋η（MgZn2） and θ（Al2Cu）＋S（Al2CuMg）＋η（MgZn2） phase regions. Al3Zr, α（Al）, Al13Fe4, η（MgZn2）, α-AlFeSi, Al7Cu2Fe, θ（Al2Cu）, Al5Cu2MgsSi6 precipitate in sequence by no-equilibrium calculation. The SEM and XRD analyses reveal that α（Al）, η（MgZn2）, Mg（Al,Cu,Zn）2, θ（Al2Cu） and Al7Cu2Fe phases are discovered in Al-9.2Zn-1.7Mg-2.3Cu alloy. The thermodynamic calculation can be used to predict the major phases present in experiment.

Microstructure evolution and thermal expansion of Cu-Zn alloy after high pressure heat treatment

The thermal expansion coefficients of Cu-Zn alloy before and after high pressure treatment were measured by thermal expansion instrument in the temperature range of 25？700 ℃,and the microstructure and phase transformation of the alloy were examined by optical microscope,X-ray diffractometer（XRD） and differential scanning calorimeter（DSC）.Based on the experimental results,the effects of high pressure treatment on the microstructure and thermal expansion of Cu-Zn alloy were investigated.The results show that the high pressure treatment can refine the grain and increase the thermal expansion coefficient of the Cu-Zn alloy,resulting in that the thermal expansion coefficient exhibits a high peak value on the α-T curve,and the peak value decreases with increasing the pressure.

Effect of Y addition on microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-Zn-Mn alloy

The effects of Y on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-6Zn-lMn alloy were investigated. The results show that the addition of Y has significant effect on the phase composition, microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-6Zn-lMn alloy. Varied phases compositions, including Mg7Zn3, I-phase （Mg3YZn6）, W-phase （Mg3Y2Zn3） and X-phase （MgI2YZn）, are obtained by adjusting the Zn to Y mass ratio. Mn element exists as the fine Mn particles, which are well distributed in the alloy. Thermal analysis and microstructure observation reveal that the phase stability follows the trend of X〉W〉/〉MgTZn3. In addition, Y can improve the mechanical properties of Mg-Zn-Mn alloy significantly, and the alloy with Y content of 6.09% has the best mechanical properties. The high strength is mainly due to the strengthening by the grain size refinement, dispersion strengthening by fine Mn particles, and introduction of the Mg-Zn-Y ternary phases.

Failure mechanism of as-cast Mg-6Zn-2Er alloy during tensile test at room temperature

Tensile test of the as-cast Mg-6Zn-2Er alloy was conducted at room temperature. The results indicate that the alloy is inclined to failure when the strain reaches 5.6%. The coarse secondary phases are responsible for the failure, especially for the Mg3Zn3Er2 phase （W-phase）. It is indicated that the existence of the W-phase activates the stress concentrations due to the incapacity of W-phase for the load transfer, which results in the void at the inner of the W-phase. In comparison, the interface between the matrix and the secondary phase is stable. In conclusion, the characters of the secondary phases with respect to size, distribution, morphology and type, play an important role in the plastic deformation behavior of the alloy.

Microstructures,corrosion and mechanical properties of as-cast Mg-Zn-Y-(Gd)alloys

Long period stacking ordered（LPSO） structure phases were prepared by conventional solidification method in Mg（94）Zn3YxGd（3-x）（x=3,2,1.5,1,mole fraction） alloys,the microstructures,corrosion and compressive mechanical properties of which were investigated,separately.The results reveal that the microstructures of the as-cast Mg（94）Zn3YxGd（3-x） alloys,with n（Zn）/n（Y＋Gd）=1：1,consist of α（Mg） phase,Mg3Zn3RE2（W） phase,Mg（12）ZnRE（14H-LPSO） phase and a few bright cube-shaped Mg-Y-Gd phases.The formation and the distribution of LPSO-phase in the alloys can be influenced by the content of Gd.The volume fraction of 14H-LPSO phase increases first and then decreases with the increase of the Gd content.For the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy（EIS） measurement,a R（Q（R（QR））） model was used to fit the test results in 3.5%（mass fraction） NaCl solution at room temperature.The corrosion current densities of all samples are about 10-（-5） A/cm-2.When x（Gd）≤1%,Mg-Zn-Y-（Gd）alloy shows good corrosion resistance,which is better than that of the commercial AZ91 D magnesium alloy.The corrosion rate increases when the Gd content is higher than 1.5%.At room temperature,the compressive properties of Mg-Zn-Y-（Gd） alloys increase remarkably with the increase of the volume fraction of LPSO phase.In addition,the pinning effect of W-phase and dispersive cube-shaped Mg-Y-Gd phase is beneficial to improving the mechanical properties of as-cast Mg（94）Zn3YxGd（3-x） alloy in deformation process.

Microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of Mg-x%Zn-1%Mn(x=4,5,6,7,8,9) wrought magnesium alloys

The roles of Zn content and thermo-mechanical treatment in affecting microstructures and mechanical properties of Mg-x%Zn-1%Mn（mass fraction,x=4,5,6,7,8,9） wrought Mg alloys were investigated.The microstructure was extremely refined by dynamic recrystallization（DRC） during extrusion.With increasing Zn content,the DRC grains tended to grow up,at the same time,more second phase streamlines would be present,which restricted the further growing.During solution treatment,the DRC grains would rapidly grow up;however,higher Zn content could hinder the grain boundary expanding,which results in finer ultimate grains.MgZn2 dispersoid particles which are coherent with the matrix would precipitate from the supersaturated solid solution during the one-step aging process,and nano-sized GP zones formed during the pre-aging stage of the two-step aging provide a huge amount of effective nuclei for the MgZn2 phases formed in the second stage,which makes the MgZn2 particles much finer and more dispersed.The mechanical properties of as-extruded samples were not so sensitive to the variation of Zn content,the tensile strength fluctuates between 300 and 320 MPa,and the elongation maintains a high value between 11% and 14%.The strength of aged samples rises as a parabolic curve with increasing Zn content,specifically,the tensile strength of one-step aged samples rises from 278 to 374 MPa,and that of two-step aged ones rises from 284 to 378 MPa,yet the elongation of all aged samples is below 8%.When Zn content exceeds its solid solution limit in Mg-Zn system（6.2%,mass fraction）,the strength rises slowly but the elongation deteriorates sharply,so a Mg-Zn-Mn alloy with 6% Zn possesses the best mechanical properties,that is,the tensile strengths after one-and two-step aging are 352 and 366 MPa,respectively,and the corresponding elongations are 7.98% and 5.2%,respectively.

Precipitation behavior of 14H LPSO structure in single 18R phase Mg-Y-Zn alloy during annealing at 773K

The microstructural evolution of a 18R single phase （S 18） alloy during annealing at 773 K for 100 h was investigated in order to reveal the formation mechanism of 14H phase. The results showed that the as-cast S 18 alloy was composed of 18R phase （its volume fraction exceeds 93%）, W particles and α-Mg phase. The 18R phase in S18 alloy was thermally stable and was not transformed into 14H long period stacking ordered （LPSO） phase during annealing. However, 14H lamellas formed within tiny α-Mg slices, and their average size and volume fraction increased with prolonging annealing time. Moreover, the 14H phase is nucleated within α-Mg independently on the basis of basal stacking faults （SFs）. The broadening growth of 14H lamellas is an interface-controlled process which involves ledges on basal planes, while the lengthening growth is a diffusion-controlled process and is associated with diffusion of solute atoms. The formation mechanism of 14H phase in this alloy could be explained as α-Mg＇→α-Mg＋14H.

Influence of quench-induced precipitation on aging behavior of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy

The effects of quenching and aging （T6, T7 and RRA） on the microstructural evolution of an A1-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy were investigated by hardness test, optical microscopy （OM）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM） and differential scanning calorimetry （DSC） measurements. It is found that the hardness of T6 aged sample after water-quenching is the highest. The quench sensitivities of T7 and RRA are almost the same, which are 1.2% higher than that of T6. TEM observation shows that the quench sensitivity for the studied alloy is mainly caused by heterogeneous precipitation during slow quenching. Many r/phases precipitate on A13Zr dispersoids inside recrystallized grains and at （sub） grain boundaries, while T and S phases form in the substructure with high density of dislocations and defects. After aging, the η＇ precipitates are coarser in the vicinity of equilibrium r/phase. However, the size and morphology of the precipitates show different characteristics among T6, T7 and RRA treatments. The DSC results are highly consistent with the TEM observation. The DSC curves of T6 aged samples are different from those of T7 and RRA aged samples, which also reflects the differences on the microstructure.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of extruded Mg-6Zn-xEr alloys

The microstructure and mechanical properties of the Mg-6Zn-xEr alloys in the as-cast, as-extruded and extruded-T5 states were investigated. It is found that the addition of Er has an obvious effect on improving mechanical properties of Mg-6Zn based alloys. The results suggest that the Mg-6Zn-0.5Er alloy in the peak aged state shows the best tensile strength. The ultimate tensile strength and the yield tensile strength of the peak-aged Mg-6Zn-0.5Er alloy are about 329 MPa and 183 MPa, respectively, companying with a good elongation of 12%. The addition of 0.5% Er into the Mg-6Zn based alloys has a great effect on improving ageing hardening response. The highest tensile strength of the peak-aged Mg-6Zn-0.5Er alloy is mainly due to the refinement of microstructure and the precipitation of β1 phase.

Effects of ultrasonic treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-5Zn-2Er alloy

The effects of ultrasonic treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-5Zn-2Er alloy at room temperature （RT） and high temperature （HT） were investigated. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the samples were studied by OM, SEM and MTS material tester. The results show that the microstructure and mechanical properties are improved after the ultrasonic vibration. The best effects of ultrasonic vibration on microstructure and mechanical properties were obtained with the ultrasonic vibration power of 600 W and time of 100 s. The cavitation and acoustic streaming caused by ultrasonic treatment play a major role in refining the microstructure and increasing mechanical properties of the alloy.

Effects of cooling rate on microstructure,mechanical and corrosion properties of Mg-Zn-Ca alloy

Mg69Zn27Ca4 alloys with diameters of 1.5, 2 and 3 mm were fabricated using copper mold injection casting method. Microstructural analysis reveals that the alloy with a diameter of 1.5 mm is almost completely composed of amorphous phase. However, with the cooling rate decline, a little α-Mg and MgZn dendrites can be found in the amorphous matrix. Based on the microstructural and tensile results, the ductile dendrites are conceived to be highly responsible for the enhanced compressive strain from 1.3% to 3.1% by increasing the sample diameter from 1.5 mm to 3 mm. In addition, the Mg69Zn27Ca4 alloy with 1.5 mm diameter has the best corrosion properties. The current Mg-based alloys show much better corrosion resistance than the traditionally commercial wrought magnesium alloy ZK60 in simulated sea-water.

Simulation study on non-linear effects of initial melt temperatures on microstructures during solidification process of liquid Mg_7Zn_3 alloy

The non-linear effects of different initial melt temperatures on the microstructure evolution during the solidification process of liquid Mg7Zn3 alloys were investigated by molecular dynamics simulation, The microstructure transformation mechanisms were analyzed by several methods. The system was found to be solidified into amorphous structures from different initial melt temperatures at the same cooling rate of 1×10^12 K/s, and the 1551 bond-type and the icosahedron basic cluster （12 0 12 0 ） played a key role in the microstructure transition. Different initial melt temperatures had significant effects on the final microstructures. These effects only can be clearly observed below the glass transition temperature Tg; and these effects are non-linearly related to the initial melt temperatures, and fluctuated in a certain range. However, the changes of the average atomic energy of the systems are still linearly related with the initial melt temperatures, namely, the higher the initial melt temperature is, the more stable the amorphous structure is and the stronger the glass forming ability will be.

Compressive anisotropy of extruded Mg-Dy-Zn alloy sheet

Compressive anisotropy of extruded Mg-2Dy-0.5Zn （mole fraction, %） alloy sheet was investigated. The alloy sheet was mainly composed ofα-Mg, （Mg, Zn）xDy phase and a large number of long period stacking ordered （LPSO） phases distributed along the extrusion direction. The compressive experimental results show that the alloy sheet exhibits an obvious compressive anisotropy. The compressive strength of the specimen in the extrusion direction （ED） is higher than those of the specimens in the transverse direction （TD） and 45° inclined to the extrusion direction. The compressive yield strength （CYS）, ultimate compressive strength （UCS） and compressive strain of the specimen in the ED are 274.65 MPa, 518.94 MPa and 12.93%, respectively. The compressive anisotropy is mainly attributed to the distribution of LPSO phase and formation of〈10 10〉//ED fiber texture in the deformed grains.

Production of Mg-Al-Zn magnesium alloy sheets with ultrafine-grain microstructure by accumulative roll-bonding

Accumulative roll-bonding （ARB） was applied to Mg-Al-Zn magnesium alloy sheets to prepare ultrafine-grain microstructure. Significant grain refinement is achieved after three cycles of ARB with average grain size of about 1.3 μm. The microstructure is characterized by nearly uniform ultrafine equiaxed microstructure without twins. The evolution of the misorientation distribution during ARB was measured by EBSD. Grain refinement can be contributed to the grain subdivision induced by severe accumulated strain, the accumulated strain enhanced concurrent dynamic recovery and recrystallization as well as the complicated distribution of interface and shear strain during ARB.