Controllable reinforcement phase distribution at the grain scale via a simple precipitation process

Abstract

Due to the inability of Zr to refine Al-containing Mg alloys, achieving pronounced grain refinement in cast AZ31 alloy has been a significant challenge for researchers. Surprisingly, we found that the reinforcement phases demonstrated a regular distribution at the grain scale after adding 0.9 wt% Nd and 0.3 wt% Y: Al2RE inside the grains and Al11RE3 agglomerated near the grain boundaries. Additionally, the grain size of AZ31 alloy was significantly reduced from 258 µm to 65 µm. The mechanisms of reinforcement phase distribution and grain refinement were explored through the combination of transmission electron microscope (TEM) and thermal analysis during the solidification process. Al2RE phase precipitates prior to α-Mg, and exhibits a specific orientation relationship with the matrix: 011̅0Mg∥011Al2RE，0002Mg∥22̅2Al2RE. This suggests that Al2RE serves as potentially effective heterogeneous nucleation sites for α-Mg. Moreover, Al11RE3 phase can restrict grain growth in the later stage of solidification. The tensile results show that a regular distribution of the reinforcement phase at the grain scale can not only effectively alleviate stress concentration, but suppress the formation of coarse twins by inducing grain refinement during alloy solidification process, significantly improving the strength and ductility of the alloy.