Abstract
Magnesium alloys are attractive lightweight materials for transportation industry as they offer a viable approach for reduced CO2 emissions and fuel economy. The most widely used alloys for automotive applications are based on the Mg–Al system where the principal second-phase β-Mg17Al12 provides strengthening but reduces ductility. A key factor in widening the use of magnesium in crashworthy components such as vehicle body applications is the availability of cost-effective Mg casting alloys with improved ductility. Modification of the Mg17Al12 in Mg–Al alloys via trace additions is a promising approach to enhance the ductility while maintaining the strength. Our research has found that only trace levels of yttrium (Y) can modify the Mg17Al12 and improve the ductility of Mg–6Al alloy by 63%. To elucidate the mechanism of this refinement, different methods are used including thermodynamic calculations, image analysis, scanning and transmission electron microscopy.
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Acknowledgements
This project has been supported through a Discovery Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The authors thank Pierre Vermette and Dr. Amir Farkoosh from McGill University for their assistance in alloy making and casting as well as the Centre de métallurgie du Québec-CMQ. Konstantinos Korgiopoulos gratefully acknowledges the financial support of Hellenic Scholarship Foundation for his scholarship and McGill Engineering Doctoral Award program (MEDA). We are also grateful for the help and assistance of, Weawkamol Leelapornpisit (FIB), Xue-Dong Liu (TEM), and Longbo Yang (LA ICP).
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Korgiopoulos, K., Pekguleryuz, M. (2020). Towards the Development of High Ductility Mg–Al Based Alloys Through Second-Phase Refinement with Trace Yttrium Additions. In: Jordon, J., Miller, V., Joshi, V., Neelameggham, N. (eds) Magnesium Technology 2020. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36647-6_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36647-6_16
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