Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Ultrafine-Grained Magnesium AZ91 Alloy

Microstructure, mechanical properties, cyclic plastic deformation behavior and fatigue strength of ultrafine-grained (UFG) magnesium alloy AZ91 processed by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) were investigated. ECAP of originally cast alloy results in development of bimodal structure, improved yield stress, tensile strength and ductility when compared to the as-cast state. Endurance limit based on 107cycles is also improved, however exhibits large scatter. Initiation of fatigue cracks takes place in regions of large grains in the bimodal structure, where the content of Mg17Al12particles is low.

Magnesium AZ91 Alloy Cast Mechanical Properties Measured by the Miniaturized Disc-Bend Test

Miniaturized Disc-Bend Test (MDBT), also called the Small Punch Test (SPT) is used for characterizing the mechanical properties of metals, when only a small volume of material is available. This study was dedicated to investigating the mechanical properties of AZ91 magnesium cast alloy. The casts were prepared via gravity sand casting and have sections with different wall thickness. The examined samples were cut out of 30 mm and 10 mm thick walls. The correlation between results obtained from the tensile tests and MDBT was determined.

Fatigue Crack Growth of Thin Wall Magnesium AZ91 Alloy Cast

The paper presents the results of fatigue crack growth rate tests performed in magnesium AZ91 alloy cast of different wall thicknesses. Due to the limited size of investigated cast the tests were carried on mini-samples of 4x4x1 mm gauge section dimensions. The samples were cut from the 5, 10 and 30 mm thick walls. The optical displacement measurement technique, namely Digital Image Correlation, and inverse method were applied for determination of the stress intensity factors and the crack tip coordinates during tests. There were also performed uniaxial tensile tests in mini-samples for the determination of the mechanical properties changes related to different cast thicknesses. The relation between the microstructure and the results of mechanical tests was discussed.