High Strength, Ductility and Superplasticity Mg-6Zn-1Y-0.6Ce-0.6Zr Alloy Prepared by Rapid Solidification and Reciprocating Extrusion

High strength, ductility, and superplasticity Mg-6.0%Zn-1.0%Y-0.6%Ce-0.6%Zr（wt%） alloy was prepared by sequentially applying rapid solidification, extrusion, and reciprocating extrusion（REX）. The microstructure of the alloy after 2-pass REX consisted of fine grains smaller than 0.7 μm and nanometer strengthening particles. The refined grains resulted from recrystallization during which the nanometer particles played an important role in restrain grain growth. The mechanical properties of the material were investigated at room and elevated temperatures. High tensile yield strength of 336 MPa and elongation of 27% were obtained at room temperature. At elevated temperatures, the highest elongation of 270% was obtained at 250 ℃ and an initial strain rate of 3.3×10^-3 s^-1, and LTS and HSRS were achieved. The high strength, ductility, and superplasticity were attributed to the refined unique microstructure.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of the micrograined hypoeutectic Zn–Mg alloy

A biodegradable Zn alloy, Zn-1.6Mg, with the potential medical applications as a promising coating material for steel components was studied in this work. The alloy was prepared by three different procedures： gravity casting, hot extrusion, and a combination of rapid solidification and hot extrusion. The samples prepared were characterized by light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis. Vickers hardness, tensile, and compressive tests were performed to determine the samples＇ mechanical properties. Structural examination reveals that the average grain sizes of samples prepared by gravity casting, hot extrusion, and rapid solidification followed by hot extrusion are 35.0, 9.7, and 2.1 μm, respectively. The micrograined sample with the finest grain size exhibits the highest hardness（Hv = 122 MPa）, compressive yield strength（382 MPa）, tensile yield strength（332 MPa）, ultimate tensile strength（370 MPa）, and elongation（9%）. This sample also demonstrates the lowest work hardening in tension and temporary softening in compression among the prepared samples. The mechanical behavior of the samples is discussed in relation to the structural characteristics, Hall-Petch relationship, and deformation mechanisms in fine-grained hexagonal-close-packed metals.

Microstructural characteristics and deformation of magnesium alloy AZ31 produced by continuous variable cross-section direct extrusion

Magnesium（Mg） alloy AZ31 was produced by continuous variable cross-section direct extrusion（CVCDE）to study its deformation behavior. Metallographic microscopy（OM）, transmission electron microscopy（TEM）, and scanning electron microscopy（SEM） were used to observe the variations in microstructure and fracture morphology of Mg alloy AZ31 as a function of processing methods. The results reveal that grains of Mg alloy AZ31 were refined and their microstructure was homogenized by CVCDE. The recrystallization in Mg alloy AZ31 produced by CVCDE with 2 interim dies was more complete than that produced by conventional extrusion（CE） and CVCDE with 1 interim die, and the grains were finer and more uniform.Plasticity of the AZ31 alloy was improved. Fracture mode was evolved from a combination of ductility and brittleness to a sole ductile form. In summary, a CVCDE mold structure with 2 interim dies can improve microstructure, plasticity, and toughness of Mg alloy AZ31.

Heat-treatable Mg-9Al-6Sn-3Zn extrusion alloy

Mg-9Al-6Sn-3Zn （wt%） alloy was extruded and heat treated in T5 and T6 conditions, and its mechanical properties and microstructures were investigated. The extruded product can be slightly strengthened by the T5 treatment as a result of sparse and heterogeneous precipitation. Significant increase in strength is achieved by the T6 treatment, and this is mostly attributed to the formation of lamellar discontinuous Mg17Al12 precipitates. The segregation of Al and Zn at grain boundaries is responsible for the discontinuous Mg17Al12 nucleation. The T6-treated alloy exhibits a tensile yield strength of 341 MPa and an ultimate tensile strength of 409 MPa, together with an elongation to fracture of 4%.

Enhanced Strength and Ductility Due to Microstructure Refinement and Texture Weakening of the GW102K Alloy by Cyclic Extrusion Compression

The cyclic extrusion compression （CEC） was applied to severely deform the as-extruded GW102K （Mg- 10.0Gd-2.0Y-0.5Zr, wt%） alloy at 350, 400, and 450 ℃, respectively. The microstructure, texture, and grain boundary character distribution of the CECed alloy were investigated in the present work. The mechan- ical properties were measured by uniaxial tension at room temperature. The crack initiation on the longitudinal section near the tensile fracture-surface was investigated by high-resolution scanning elec- tron microscopy （SEM）. The result shows that the microstructure was dramatically refined by dynamic recrystallization （DRX）. The initial fiber texture was disintegrated and obviously weakened. The 8-passes/ 350 ℃ CECed alloy exhibited yield strength of 318 MPa with an elongation-to-fracture of 16.8%, increased by 41.3% and 162.5%, respectively. Moreover, the elongation-to-fracture of the 8-passes/450 ℃ CECed alloy significantly increased more than 3 times than that of the received alloy. The cracks were mainly initi- ated at twin boundaries and second phase/matrix interfaces during tensile deformation. The microstructure refinement was considered to result in the dramatically enhanced of the strength and ductility. In ad- dition, the texture randomization during CEC is beneficial for enhancing ductility. The standard positive Hall-Petch relationships have been obtained for the CECed GW102K alloy.

Microstructure, Mechanical Properties, Corrosion Behavior and Biocompatibility of As-Extruded Biodegradable Mg–3Sn–1Zn–0.5Mn Alloy

The microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of biodegradable Mg-3Sn-1Zn-0.5Mn alloys were investigated by the optical microscopy, X-ray diffractometer and a universal material testing machine. The corrosion and degradation behaviors were studied by potentiodynamic polarization method and immersion test in a simulated body fluid （SBF）. It was found that the as-extruded Mg-3Sn-1Zn-0.5Mn alloy has the fine equiaxed grains which underwent complete dynamic recrystallization during the hot extrusion process, with the second phase particles of Mg2Sn precipitated on the grain boundaries and inside the grains. The tensile strength and elongation of as-extruded Mg-3Sn-1Zn-0.5Mn alloys were 244 ± 3.7 MPa and 19.3% ± 1.7%, respectively. The potentiodynamic polarization curves in SBF solution indicated the better corrosion resistance of the as-extruded Mg-3Sn-1Zn-0.5Mn alloy in the SBF solution. Immersion test in the SBF solution for 720 h revealed that the corrosion rate of as-extruded Mg-3Sn-1Zn-0.5Mn alloy was nearly 4±0.33 ram/year. The hemolysis rate of as-extruded Mg-3Sn-1Zn-0.5Mn alloy was lower than the safe value of 5% according to ISO 10993-4. As-extruded Mg-3Sn- 1Zn-0.5Mn alloy showed good biocompatibility after being implanted into the dorsal muscle and the femoral shaft of the rabbit, and no abnormalities were found after short-term implantation. It was revealed that the as-extruded Mg-3Sn-1Zn-0.5Mn alloy is a promising material for biodegradable implants, which possesses an interesting combination of preferred mechanical properties, better corrosion resistance and biocompatibility.