Kun Wu

Effect of LPSO and SFs on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of Mg-Gd-Y-Zn-Zr alloy

High performance Mg-8.2Gd-3.8Y-1.0Zn-0.4Zr alloy with high strength and excellent ductility has been successfully developed by hot extrusion. The effect of plate-shaped long period stacking ordered (LPSO) phases and solute-segregated stacking faults (SFs) on the dynamically recrystallization (DRX) behavior was analyzed. The plate-shaped LPSO phases stimulate the DRX by particle stimulated nucleation mechanism, leading to higher DRX ratio and weaker basal texture. While for the alloy with dense fine SFs inside the original grains, discontinuous DRX initially occurs at the original grain boundaries, and the DRX is obviously restricted. Consequently, alloy containing dense SFs exhibits higher strength but lower ductility compared with alloy with plated-shaped LPSO phases.

Equal Channel Angular Pressing of Magnesium Alloy Containing Quasicrystal Phase

ZWK510 (Mg-5.0wt%Zn-0.9wt%Y-0.2wt%Zr) magnesium alloy containing Mg3YZn6 quasicrystal phase was prepared by conventional permanent mold casting. Part of the cast ingot was subjected to equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) directly; another part of the cast ingot was extruded initially, then ECAP was applied to the extruded alloy. After 4-pass ECAP, the fraction of coarse grains of the as-cast alloy was decreased to about 30%, and the grain size of fine grain was decreased to about 2 μm. Both strength and ductility of the as-cast ZWK510 alloy were significantly improved with increasing ECAP passes, which was resulted from broken and dispersed I-phase, and fine grains formed due to recrystallization. The as-extruded ZWK510 had an initial grain size of about 2 μm and bands of quasicrystal phase parallel to the extrusion direction. After the extruded alloy was subjected to ECAP, the grain size of the extruded alloy was further refined, the grain size was refined to below 0.5 um after 8-pass ECAP; and the quasicrystal phase was further broken and dispersed in the matrix. After ECAP, the elongation to failure of the extruded alloy was improved. However, both yield strength and ultimate tensile strength were decreased, which is considered to be resulted from the texture modification during ECAP.

Microstructure and Tensile Properties of Magnesium Alloy Containing Quasicrystallines Processed by Equal-Channel-Angular-Extrusion

Equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) was performed on as-cast ZW1101 (Mg-11wt%Zn- 0.9wt%Y) Mg alloy containing quasicrystallines. The grain size of α-Mg was effectively refined, and coarse eutectic quasicrystalline phases were broken and dispersed in the alloy by ECAE. The alloy processed by ECAE exhibited a good combination of high strength and high ductility, which is due to the grain refinement and fine dispersed quasicrystallines in the alloy.

Effect of Equal Channel Angular Extrusion on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Magnesium Alloy Containing Quasicrystallines

Equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) was applied to an extruded ZW1101 (Mg - 11wt%Zn - 0.9wt%Y) Mg alloy containing quasicrystallines. The as-extruded ZW1101 alloy had an initial grain size of about 12 µm and bands of quasicrystalline phases parallel to the extrusion direction. After the extruded alloy was subjected to ECAE processing, the grain size was refined to about 0.5 µm, and the quasicrystalline phases were further broken and dispersed in the matrix. After the ECAE processing, the micro-hardness and yield strength of the alloy were increased, however, the ultimate tensile strength and the ductility of the alloy were slightly decreased.

Mechanical Properties and Damping Behavior of Magnesium Alloys Processed by Equal Channel Angular Pressing

Equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) was applied to commercial pure magnesium alloy, Mg-1wt%Si alloy and Mg-4.2wt%Zn-0.7wt%Y alloy. With increasing ECAP passes, both tensile strength and ductility of the alloys are increased, which are mainly resulted from the grain refinement. At the same time, for the Mg-Zn-Y alloy with inherent low damping capacity, damping capacity is increased after ECAP passes, however, the damping capacity is still low even after 6-pass ECAP. While for the commercial pure magnesium and Mg-Si alloy with inherent high damping capacity, although the damping capacity is decreased obviously after ECAP, Q-1 is still greater than 0.01. The damping capacity after ECAP processing is mainly influenced by grain size and deformation microstructure. ECAP paves a way for the development of magnesium alloys with high strength and high ductility combined with high damping capacity.

Characterization of Wear and Corrosion Protective Coatings Formed on AZ91 Magnesium Alloy and SiCw/AZ91 Magnesium Matrix Composite by Microarc Oxidation

The wear and corrosion protective coatings were synthesized on AZ91 Mg alloy and Mg matrix SiCw/AZ91 composite by a microarc oxidation (MAO) technique in an alkali-silicate electrolyte solution. The phase structure of the coatings was analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The tribological properties of the coatings sliding against GCr15 steel were investigated on a pin-on-disc friction and wear tester. The morphology and elemental composition of the worn coating surface were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). The potentiodynamic polarizing curves were measured to evaluate the corrosion resistance of the coatings. The results showed that the application of the coatings changed evolution tendency of friction coefficients and wear mechanism. For coated Mg alloy and Mg matrix composite, both the wear resistance and corrosion resistance were improved greatly.

Microstructure and Tensile Properties of a Mg-Zn-Y-Zr Alloy Containing Quasicrystal Phase Processed by Equal Channel Angular Pressing

Equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) was performed on extruded Mg-Zn-Y-Zr (Mg-5.0wt%Zn-0.9wt%Y-0.2wt%Zr) alloy at 300 oC. After 8 ECAP passes, average grain size of the alloy was reduced to about 1.4 μm, and the quasicrystalline phases were broken and dispersed in the matrix. In addition, nano- quasicrystallines were precipitated from the matrix during ECAP processing. After ECAP, the elongation to failure of the extruded material was significantly improved. Only after 2 ECAP passes, the elongation to failure was 29%, and after 8 ECAP passes, it reached 35%, which was three times larger than that of the as-extruded alloy. However, both yield strength and ultimate tensile strength were decreased with the increasing ECAP passes, which was considered to be resulted from the {0002} basal plane texture modification during ECAP.

Processing, Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of SiCp/AZ91 Mg Matrix Composites Fabricated by Squeeze Casting

The fabrication processing, mechanical properties and fracture characters of SiCp/AZ91 magnesium matrix composites fabricated by squeeze casting were investigated. The SiC particles with different diameters (5μm, 20μm and 50μm) were employed as the reinforcement in the composites, the volume fraction of them was 50% in all cases. Experimental results showed that when the size of SiC particle decreased, the tensile properties of the composite increased. The tensile properties of SiCp/AZ91 composite with small particles are controlled by the properties of matrix alloy and the strength of the interface between the matrix and reinforcements, but the composites reinforced by large particles are controlled by the fracture of the particles.

Compressive Behavior of Extruded SiCw/AZ91 at Temperatures close to and above the Solidus of the Matrix Alloy

Compressive deformation behaviors of extruded SiCw/AZ91 were investigated in Gleeble-1500 thermal simulator at temperatures from 743 K to 783 K and strain rates from 6.4×10-2 s-1 to 1.0×101s-1. Results showed that high strain rate sensitivity (~0.5) occurred during compression; deformation activation energy normalized by threshold stress was higher than the lattice self-diffusion activation energy of magnesium. Dynamic recovery (DRV) and dynamic recrystallization (DRX) took place during compression, which refined the grains. The increase of deformation energy was attributed to non-basal planes slip and climbing of dislocations and also the presence of liquid phase.

Deformation Behavior of ZK60 Magnesium Alloy at Elevated Temperature

The high temperature compressive tests of squeeze casting ZK60 magnesium alloy in the testing temperature range of 523-723K and strain rate range of 0.001-10s-1 were performed on Gleeble-1500D thermal simulator testing machine. Optical microscopy was performed to elaborate on the dynamic recrystallization (DRX) grain growth. TEM observation indicated that the mechanical twinning, dislocation slip, and dynamic recrystallization are the materials typical deformation features. Variations of flow behavior with deformation temperature as well as strain rate were analyzed. Analysis of the flowing deformation behavior and microstructure observations indicated that the flow localization was observed at lower testing temperature and higher strain rates. Dynamic recrystallization occurred at higher testing temperature and moderate strain rates, which improved the ductility of the material. The results indicated that at the testing temperatures lower than 573K and strain rates higher than 1s-1, the material exhibited flow instability manifesting as bands of flow localizations. These temperatures and strain rates should be avoided in processing the material. Dynamic recrystallization occurs in the temperature range 573-723K and the strain rate range 0.001-0.1s-1. The number of dynamic recrystallization grains is less at lower temperature and higher strain rate than higher temperature and lower strain rate. The dynamic recrystallization is inadequate at 573-623K while the dynamic recrystallization grain growth has been observed in the temperature range of 673-723K. Therefore it may be considered that the optimum processing parameters for hot working of squeeze casting ZK60 magnesium alloy are 648K and 0.001-0.01s-1, at which fine dynamic recrystallization microstructure can be obtained.