Thermodynamic predictions of Mg - Al - M (M=Zn, Mn, Si) alloy compositions amenable to semisolid metal processing

Abstract

The growing importance of semisolid metal processing and magnesium alloys for producing automotive components necessitate the development of new alloys that can take full advantage of this processing technique. Such alloy development can significantly benefit from prior predictions through computational thermodynamics in order to minimise time and cost intensive experiments based on the conventional trial and error approach. In the present work, a thermodynamic approach is undertaken to study the effects of the variations of alloy compositions in the Mg rich corner of the Mg - Al and Mg - Al - M (M = Zn, Mn, Si) systems on the semisolid processability and properties. The influences of different alloying elements are compared and potential alloy compositions amenable to semisolid metal processing are presented.