Recent progress of Mg–Sn based alloys: the relationship between aging response and mechanical performance

Abstract

As the lightest metallic structural materials with excellent damping capacity, good castability, and high specific strength, Mg alloys have huge potential for application in many industries including aircraft, automobile, and rail traffic. However, the strength of Mg alloys generally falls below the application benchmark and the development of high-strength Mg alloys relies on the addition of rare earth (RE) elements, which raises their cost and limits their application. Mg–Sn based alloys are promising age-hardenable RE-free Mg alloys which exhibit the potential of replacing those containing RE elements and becoming heat-resistant high-strength Mg alloys. Microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg–Sn based alloys have attracted enormous research interest over the past two decades. A comprehensive review of recent advances in this field is beneficial for their development, but such a review is still unavailable. This paper reviews recent progress of Mg–Sn based alloys from the perspective of the relationship between aging response and mechanical performance, striving to provide guidance for the development of high-performance Mg–Sn based alloys. Several key aspects are discussed including aging response, room temperature strength and ductility, and tension-compression yield asymmetry.

Keywords

• Mg–Sn based Alloys
• Aging performance
• Strength and ductility
• Tension-compression yield asymmetry
• Precipitates