Effects of homogenization temperature on microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of binary Zn-Mn alloys extruded at different temperatures

Abstract

In order to optimize the mechanical properties (MPs) of biodegradable Zn-based alloys, many researches have been conducted. However, the effect of homogenization treatment before the plastic deformation process on the MPs of biodegradable Zn-based alloys has not received sufficient attention, although it has been demonstrated to play an important role in improving the MPs of Al- and Mg-based alloys. In this work, as-cast Zn-0.8 wt% Mn alloys were firstly homogenized at two different temperatures (330 and 390 °C) followed by quenching and then extruded at three different temperatures (170, 230 and 300 °C). This work revealed the effects of homogenization temperature (HT) on microstructure, MPs and corrosion behavior of Zn-0.8 wt% Mn alloys extruded at different temperatures. The results showed that compared to the alloy homogenized at 330 °C (HT330), the alloy homogenized at 390 °C (HT390) has less precipitation of micron-sized MnZn13 particles in the homogenization process. During the subsequent extrusion processes at 170 and 230 °C, more submicron-sized MnZn13 particles are precipitated and finer Zn grains are formed in the HT390 alloys than in the HT330 alloys. Correspondingly, the two extruded HT390 alloys exhibit elongations of up to 133 % and 86 %, respectively, which are much higher than the 71 % and 65 % of the two extruded HT330 alloys. However, when the extruding temperature is elevated to 300 °C, high HT causes decrease in the fraction of both the micron- and submicron-sized MnZn13 particles as well as coarsening of Zn grains, followed by an increase in the strength of the as-extruded alloy. In addition, high HT is conductive to improving the corrosion resistance of the as-extruded alloys regardless of the extrusion temperature.