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On the Precipitation in an Ag-Containing Mg-Gd-Zr Alloy

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Abstract

The evolution of precipitates in a high-strength Mg-2.4Gd-0.4Ag-0.1Zr (at. pct) alloy was investigated using high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM). The precipitation of Mg-2.4Gd-0.4Ag-0.1Zr includes β- and γ-type precipitates, the latter involving a hitherto unreported precipitation sequence that is the focus of the present study. The β-type precipitation sequence is described as follows: supersaturated solid solution (S.S.S.S.) → ordered solute clusters → zigzag GP zones → β′ → \( \beta_{F}^{'} \) → β 1 → β. Compared with the precipitation sequence of the Mg-Gd system, the proposed β-type precipitation sequence includes ordered solute clusters, zigzag GP zones, and \( \beta_{F}^{'} \), but excludes β″. The strain field around the coarsened β′ phase is supposed to stimulate the formation of the \( \beta^{\prime}_{F} \) phase. Furthermore, the \( \beta_{F}^{'} \) phase provides preferential nucleation site for the β 1 phase. The γ-type precipitation sequence is proposed as follows: S.S.S.S. → basal GP zones → γ′′′ → γ″ → γ. The crystal structures, morphologies, and orientations of the basal GP zone, γ′′′, γ″, γ phases were comprehensively examined and established herein. The results are described in the context of other, but similar, alloy systems. A holistic description of the precipitate evolution in Ag-containing Mg-Gd alloys is discussed and rationalized.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the support from the Australia Research Council and the use of the facilities within the Monash Center for Electron Microscopy (MCEM). L.M. Peng and Y. Zhang also wish to thank the financial support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51304135 and 51671128) and Program for Outstanding Academic Leader of Shanghai (No. 14XD1425000). N. Birbilis was supported by Woodside Energy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Engineering Research Center of Light Alloy Net Forming and State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composite, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, People’s Republic of China

    Yu Zhang, Wei Rong, Yujuan Wu & Liming Peng

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3800, Australia

    Yu Zhang, Yuman Zhu, Jian-Feng Nie & Nick Birbilis

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  1. Yu Zhang
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  2. Yuman Zhu
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Correspondence to Liming Peng or Nick Birbilis.

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Manuscript submitted May 24, 2017.

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Zhang, Y., Zhu, Y., Rong, W. et al. On the Precipitation in an Ag-Containing Mg-Gd-Zr Alloy. Metall Mater Trans A 49, 673–694 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-017-4440-z

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