The effects of Sr addition on microstructures and tensile properties of the as-cast and hot-extruded AZ80 alloys were studied by OM, SEM, EDS, XRD, DSC and Instron tester. The results show that the microstructures of as-cast alloys consist of α-Mg and β-Mg17Al12 phase. Sr gathers on the boundaries, and dissolves into β-Mg17Al12 phase or forms Mg17Sr2 phase. The grains of as-cast alloys are refined and discontinuous net-shaped structure is formed. The compound phases on the boundaries become thicker with increasing Sr content. The ultimate tensile stress(UTS) and elongation are improved compared with the corresponding Sr-free alloy. After preliminary hot-extruding, the UTS is up to 308?320 MPa and elongation reaches 8.0%?13.5%. After double hot-extrusion, the dynamic recrystallization completes totally, and the UTS is up to 310?355 MPa, but the elongation does not change apparently. The alloy with 0.02%Sr (mass fraction) obtains the best comprehensive performance with the UTS of 355 MPa and elongation of 13.2%. The SEM morphology of fracture surface shows that the alloys with Sr present good ductility after double hot-extrusion.
The effect of partial substitution of Al for Cu on the glass forming ability(GFA) and mechanical properties of Mg65Cu25-xAlxGd10 (x=0, 1, 3 and 5, molar fraction, %) alloys were studied by X-ray diffractometry(XRD), differential scanning calorimetry(DSC) and uniaxial compression test. The result reveals that GFA of the alloys changes slightly with increasing x from 0 to 3, and then abruptly decreases with x increasing up to 5. The plasticity can be greatly improved with appropriate substitution of Cu by Al (3%, molar fraction) in Mg65Cu25Gd10 bulk metallic glass, and the resultant fracture strength, total strain to failure, and plastic strain are 898 MPa, 2.19% and 0.2%, respectively.
The phase selection of ternary intermetallic compound τphase (Mg32(Al, Zn)49 ) and φ phase (Al2Mg5Zn2) in high zinc magnesium alloys was studied by using scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffractometer and differential scanning calorimeter, etc. The results indicate that, when adding element Si in Mg-8Zn-4Al-0.3Mn (ZA84) alloy, φ phase is promoted, whereas τ phase is inhibited. The Chinese script-type Mg2Si and matrix microstructure are greatly refined, the formation of τ phase is facilitated and φ phase is restrained when modifier Al-AlP master alloy is added in ZA84 alloy containing Si. The kinetics study of phase selection indicates that there is a critical degree of undercooling of the melt. If the undercooling exceeds the critical value, τ phase preferentially forms while φ phase is restrained; otherwise, φ phase preferentially forms while τ phase is restrained.
