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Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of Extruded Mg-Gd-Al Alloys: Influence of Initial Second-Phase Morphology Before Extrusion

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Abstract

The effect of the second-phase morphology on dynamic recrystallisation in a Mg–9Gd–0.8Al alloy during hot extrusion was investigated at a temperature of 400 ℃. Microstructure analysis of the as-cast Mg–9Gd–0.8Al alloy revealed a predominant composition comprising an α-Mg matrix, a petal-like (Mg,Al)3Gd phase, and a lamellar Mg5Gd phase along the grain boundary, along with a small proportion of a square Al2Gd phase within the grain. Upon subjecting the alloy to a solid-solution treatment at 540 ℃, the lamellar phase underwent precipitation, eventually dissolving into the matrix as the treatment time increased. The recrystallisation volume fraction of the alloy showed a positive correlation with the solution time following hot extrusion at 400 ℃. The mechanical properties of the extruded alloy were tested, and the results revealed that the as-cast extruded alloy had the highest tensile strength of 317 MPa among the tested samples, mainly owing to its bimodal structure. Moreover, the broken (Mg,Al)3Gd phase initiated particle-stimulated nucleation. Here, the extruded alloy subjected to 10 h of solution treatment exhibited the highest yield strength of 240 MPa. The increased yield strength was attributed to the presence of the broken (Mg,Al)3Gd phase and the dispersion of lamellar (Mg,Al)2Gd phases at the recrystallised grain boundaries. Notably, the alloy extruded with a treated solution for 50 h exhibited the most favourable plasticity compared to the others, achieving an elongation of 29.7%. These results underscore the significance of the study in understanding the relationship between the second-phase morphology and alloy behaviour after hot extrusion.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi Province (20210302123135, 20210302123163, 202303021221143), Scientific and Technological Achievements Transformation Guidance Special Project of Shanxi Province (202104021301022, 202204021301009), Central Government Guided Local Science and Technology development projects (YDZJSX20231B003, YDZJSX2021A010) and National Natural Science Foundations of China (52374395). The Ministry of Science and higher Education of the Russian Federation for financial support under the Megagrant (No. 075-15-2022-1133) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) grant funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (2015R1A2A1A01006795) of Korea through the Research Institute of Advanced Materials. China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2022M710541), Research Project Supported by Shanxi Scholarship Council of China (2022-038).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanxi Key Laboratory of Advanced Magnesium-Based Materials, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China

    Chao Wang, Hongxia Wang, Anguo Zhang, Kai Wang & Lifei Wang

  2. Department of Materials, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK

    Zhening Yang

  3. Shanxi Jianghuai Heavy Industry Co., Ltd., Jincheng, 048000, China

    Jin Wang

  4. Institute of Superalloys Science and Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China

    Guangxiao Ren

  5. Magnesium Technology Innovation Center, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Gwanak-Ro, Gwanak-Gu, Seoul, 08826, South Korea

    Kwang Seon Shin

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  1. Chao Wang
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  3. Guangxiao Ren
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  4. Hongxia Wang
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Wang, C., Yang, Z., Ren, G. et al. Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of Extruded Mg-Gd-Al Alloys: Influence of Initial Second-Phase Morphology Before Extrusion. Met. Mater. Int. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12540-024-01665-1

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