For thixoforming to be possible, the microstructure of the starting material must be non-dendritic, which can be ob- tained by the strain induced melt activation （SIMA） route. Based on the SIMA route, as-cast AZ91D alloy with the addition of yttrium was deformed by cyclic closed-die forging （CCDF）. Microstructure evolution of CCDF formed AZ91D-RE alloy during partial remelting were investigated. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of thixoformed AZ91D-RE magnesium alloy components were also studied. The results showed that prolonged holding time resulted in grain coarsening and the improvement in degree of spheroidization. The coarsening behaviour of solid grains in the semi-solid state obeyed Ostwald ripening mechanism. The coarsening rate constant of CCDF formed AZ91D-RE during partial remelting was 324 um3/s at 550 ℃. The value of yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and elongation to fracture of four-pass CCDF formed AZ91D-RE magnesium alloy were 214.9, 290.5 MPa and 14%, respectively. Then the four-pass CCDF formed alloys were used for thixoforming. After holding at 550 ℃ for 5 min, the values of yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and elongation to fracture of thixoformed component were 189.6 MPa, 274.6 MPa and 12%, respectively. However, prolonged holding time led to remarkable decrease in mechanical properties ofthixo- formed components.
The cyclic extrusion compression （CEC） process was introduced into the AM60B magnesium alloy. The use of the CEC process was favorable for producing finer microstructures. The results show that the microstructure can be effectively refined with increasing the number of CEC passes. Once a critical minimum grain size was achieved, subsequent passes did not have any noticeable refining effect. As expected, the fine-grained alloy has excellent mechanical properties. The micro-hardness, yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and elongation to failure of two-pass CEC formed alloy are 72.2, 183.7 MPa, 286.3 MPa and 14.0%, but those of as-cast alloy are 62.3, 64 MPa, 201 MPa and 11%, respectively. However, there is not a clear improvement of mechanical properties with further increase in number of CEC passes in AM60B alloy. The micro-hardness, yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and elongation to failure of four-pass CEC formed alloy are 73.5, 196 MPa, 297 MPa and 16%, respectively.
