Microstructure, Mechanical, Corrosion, and Ignition Properties of WE43 Alloy Prepared by Different Processes

Drahomír Dvorský,Klára Hosová,Miroslav Čavojský,Dalibor Vojtěch,Jiří Kubásek

doi:10.3390/met11050728

Abstract

This paper deals with the effect of microstructure condition on ignition temperature, mechanical and corrosion properties of commercial WE43 alloy prepared by various processing techniques including conventional casting, extrusion, and powder metallurgy methods such as spark plasma sintering. For different processing technique, differences in microstructures were observed, including different grain sizes, intermetallic phases, amount of alloying elements in the solid solutions, or specific structural elements. Mechanical and corrosion properties were improved especially by grain refinement. Precipitation from oversaturated solid solutions led to further improvement of mechanical properties, while corrosion resistance was just slightly decreased due to the fine and homogeneously distributed precipitates of Mg41Nd5. The obtained results indicate huge differences in ignition resistance based on the metallurgical state of the microstructure. An improved ignition resistance was obtained at the condition with a higher concentration of proper alloying elements (Y, Nd, Gd, Dy) in the solid solution and absence of eutectic phases in the microstructure. Thermally stable intermetallic phases had a minor effect on resulting ignition temperature.

Highlights

IntroductionMagnesium alloys are interesting in two different fields—biomaterials and industry
One of the most advanced commercial magnesium alloys WE43 was prepared by various processing techniques including casting, heat treatment, extrusion, and spark plasma sintering (SPS)
The dominant effect was attributed to the average grain size and distribution of intermetallic phases in the microstructure

Summary

Introduction

Magnesium alloys are interesting in two different fields—biomaterials and industry. Magnesium alloys as light materials with good mechanical properties are highly demanded in the automotive, railway, and aerospace industries [1]. The density of magnesium is 1.74 g/cm which is 35% and 75% lower than aluminum and iron, respectively, which are the metals used for construction [2,3]. The replacement of aluminum parts with magnesium would cause a reduction of the weight of an airplane by up to 30% [4]. Such a reduction of weight would, result in the reduction of the burnt fuel and subsequently reduced CO2 emissions [5]

Methods

Results

Conclusion