Microstructures and mechanical properties of ascast Mg–5Al–0.4Mn–xNd (x = 0, 1, 2 and 4) alloys.pdfVIP

Materials Science and Engineering A 472 (2008) 332–337 Microstructures and mechanical properties of as-cast Mg–5Al–0.4Mn–xNd (x = 0, 1, 2 and 4) alloys Jianli Wang a,b , JieYang a,b , Yaoming Wu a , Hongjie Zhang a , Limin Wang a,∗ a Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Chemistry and Physics, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China b Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100049, China Received 9 January 2007; received in revised form 9 March 2007; accepted 12 March 2007 Abstract Mg–5Al–0.4Mn–xNd (x = 0, 1, 2 and 4 wt.%) alloys were prepared by metal mould casting method. The microstructures and mechanical properties were investigated. The results demonstrated that Al11Nd3 phase was formed and mainly aggregated along the grain boundaries with the addition of Nd. Meanwhile, the grain sizes were greatly reduced with the increasing Nd content. The tensile properties of the as-cast alloys were also improved at room temperature and 423 K, and the alloy containing 2 wt.% Nd exhibited the highest tensile strength. The improvement of the tensile strength was mainly attributed to the refined grains and the highly thermal stability of Al11Nd3 precipitate that effectively prohibited the dislocation movement and grain boundary sliding. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Mg–Al–Mn–Nd alloy; Microstructures; Grain refinement; Mechanical properties 1. Introduction their distinct improving effect on the mechanical properties. For example, the