In recent years, magnesium alloys have been received much attention as important structural materials for lightweight components in automotive, electronic and space industries because of the low density, high specific strength, high damping capacities and good casting properties. Among various magnesium alloys, rare earth (RE) containing alloys are known to show high strength, excellent creep resistance, and good thermal stability. Long period stacking ordered structures (LPSO) being responsible for the improved property profile in some Mg–RE alloys. One promising system are the Mg-Y-Zn alloys, which are predominantly processed via extrusion. Only a few studies are focused on hot rolling. However, these works are confined to rolling temperatures between 350 °C and 420 °C. The present paper summarizes the development of a rolling technique including pass schedule and heat treatment for the magnesium alloy Mg-6.8Y-2.5Zn-0.5Al in as-cast condition in order to produce sheets with a final thickness of 2.5 mm. The investigations are accompanied by the characterization of the microstructure as well as the determination of the mechanical properties.
Magnesium alloys containing rare earth elements offer excellent strength at room temperature as well as at elevated temperatures and are distinguished by a high ignition-resistance. However, with regard to cost efficiency and the conversation of resources, these alloys are not suitable for commercial industrial applications. Therefore, the research project SubSEEMag at the Institute of Metal Forming/Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg focusses on the development of alternative alloy compositions, which meet the requirements on materials properties of magnesium alloys for industrial applications and production costs. Several magnesium alloys containing zinc, aluminum, manganese and calcium were poured in cylindrical molds at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht. The characterization of the as-cast condition was carried out by light and scanning electron microscopy. Phase compositions were determined using EDX analysis. The Mg alloys were homogenized at different temperatures. Afterwards, hot rolling to a final thickness of 2.7 mm was conducted. The influence of temperature and time of the annealing on the microstructure and the mechanical properties of the hot rolled condition have been investigated. The results were discussed in comparison to commercial available Mg-RE alloys.
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