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Magnesium diffusion, surface segregation and oxidation in Al-Mg alloys

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Abstract

Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) has been used to follow the surface segregation behaviour of magnesium at the surface of Al-Mg alloys in the temperature range up to 600° C as a function of time. The evaporation rate of magnesium from the magnesium-rich surface has also been measured. The combination of the competing processes of segregation and evaporation has been treated theoretically and compared with the experimental measurements. The measured equilibrium surface enrichment of magnesium fell from a factor of 24 at 100° C to 12 at 200° C. At higher temperature the evaporation rate exceeded the segregation rate and the surface layer became magnesium-depleted. The data also lead to a low-temperature determination of the diffusivity of magnesium in aluminium. The same Al-Mg alloys have been heat-treated, within a similar time-temperature regime, in air. The oxide films have been composition-depth profiled using AES with ion sputtering, and measurements of the rate of oxide growth lead to information about the diffusivity of magnesium through the oxide films.

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Author notes

  1. C. Molinari

    Present address: Centre de Recherches Tréfimetaux, rue Michel Carré, Argenteuil, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Materials Applications, National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, Middlesex, UK

    C. Lea & C. Molinari

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  1. C. Lea
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Additional information

On leave of absence from Laboratoire de Thermodynamique et Physico-Chimie Metallurgiques, ENSEEG Domaine Universitaire, St. Martin d'Hères, France.

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Lea, C., Molinari, C. Magnesium diffusion, surface segregation and oxidation in Al-Mg alloys. J Mater Sci 19, 2336–2352 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01058110

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