Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of ZK60 Magnesium Alloy Prepared by Multi-Pass Friction Stir Processing

Friction stir processing (FSP) is a novel severe plastic deformation technique developed in recent years to produce fine-grained structural materials. In this paper, the microstructure and mechanical properties of ZK60 magnesium alloy prepared by the single-pass and two-pass FSP were studied. The first-pass was subjected with 800r/min-100mm/min and the second-pass was subjected with 600r/min-100mm/min. The results show that the coarse second phase was dissolved into magnesium matrix and the α-Mg grains were remarkably refined in stir zone after FSP. The average grain sizes of the single-pass and two-pass FSP alloys were 6.8μm and 6.0μm respectively. The microhardnesses of the specimens were 70HV and 65HV, the ultimate tensile strengths were 276MPa and 272MPa, and the elongations were 31.6% and 42.5%, respectively. Through increasing the processing pass, the microstructure became finer and the second phase is dissolved more thoroughly. The combined effect of grain refinement and second phase dissolved was responsible for the change of mechanical properties.