Effects of alloying element and cooling rate on properties of AM60 Mg alloy

Abstract

Magnesium and its alloys have become important structural materials in the last couple of decades due to their exceptional and mechanical properties. In this study, the effects of the introduction Cd, Bi, and Sn alloying elements were introduced into AM60 alloys produced from Mg-Al-Mn triple junction in order to improve the microstructural and mechanical properties. The weight percent of the alloying elements was chosen as 0.5% wt besides the introduction of the additional alloying elements, the effect of cooling rate on microstructural and mechanical properties of the alloys have been investigated. The results showed that the alloying elements introduced to AM60 resulted in an improvement in the mechanical properties of the alloys, which is attributed to the changes in the microstructure. The higher cooling rate led to the formation of the finer a-Mg master matrix which in turn enhanced the mechanical properties of the alloys. It was observed that the intermetallic phase of beta-Mg17Al12 at the grain boundaries became thinner due to the rapid cooling rate and the introduction of the alloying elements, and the continuity decreased and the intergranular distance shortened. The addition of the alloying element increased the tensile strength of the AM60 alloy from 140 MPa to 210 MPa and the elongation values increased from 5% to 22%. The effects of the alloying elements and the cooling rate on the hardness and yields properties of the samples were also studied.