TY - JOUR
T1 - Mechanical Strength and Failure Characteristics of Cast Mg-9 pctAl-1 pctZn Alloys Produced by a Heated-Mold Continuous Casting Process
T2 - Tensile Properties
AU - Okayasu, Mitsuhiro
AU - Takeuchi, Shuhei
AU - Ohfuji, Hiroaki
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by a grant (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C), 2014) from the Japanese Government (Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture) and Ehime University.
PY - 2014/11
Y1 - 2014/11
N2 - The mechanical properties and failure characteristics of a cast Mg alloy (AZ91: Mg-Al8.9-Zn0.6-Mn0.2) produced by a heated-mold continuous casting process (HMC) are investigated. In a modification of the original HMC process, the cooling of the liquid alloy by direct water spray is carried out in an atmosphere of high-purity argon gas. The HMC-AZ91 alloy exhibits excellent mechanical properties (high strength and high ductility) that are about twice as high as those for the same alloy produced by conventional gravity casting. The increased material strength and ductility of the HMC sample are attributed to nanoscale and microscale microstructural characteristics. The fine grains and tiny spherical eutectic structures (e.g., Mg17Al12 and Al6Mn) distributed randomly in the matrix of the HMC alloy result in resistance to dislocation movement, leading to high tensile strength. Basal slip on (0001) planes in the relatively organized crystal orientation of the HMC alloy, as well as grain boundary sliding through tiny spherical eutectic structures, results in high ductility. Details of the failure mechanism under static loading in the HMC alloy are also discussed using failure models.
AB - The mechanical properties and failure characteristics of a cast Mg alloy (AZ91: Mg-Al8.9-Zn0.6-Mn0.2) produced by a heated-mold continuous casting process (HMC) are investigated. In a modification of the original HMC process, the cooling of the liquid alloy by direct water spray is carried out in an atmosphere of high-purity argon gas. The HMC-AZ91 alloy exhibits excellent mechanical properties (high strength and high ductility) that are about twice as high as those for the same alloy produced by conventional gravity casting. The increased material strength and ductility of the HMC sample are attributed to nanoscale and microscale microstructural characteristics. The fine grains and tiny spherical eutectic structures (e.g., Mg17Al12 and Al6Mn) distributed randomly in the matrix of the HMC alloy result in resistance to dislocation movement, leading to high tensile strength. Basal slip on (0001) planes in the relatively organized crystal orientation of the HMC alloy, as well as grain boundary sliding through tiny spherical eutectic structures, results in high ductility. Details of the failure mechanism under static loading in the HMC alloy are also discussed using failure models.
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U2 - 10.1007/s11661-014-2497-5
DO - 10.1007/s11661-014-2497-5
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84920258741
VL - 45
SP - 5767
EP - 5776
JO - Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A: Physical Metallurgy and Materials Science
JF - Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A: Physical Metallurgy and Materials Science
SN - 1073-5623
IS - 12
ER -