Effects of La2(CO3)3 on microstructure and mechanical properties of ZM-5 magnesium alloy

Abstract

The optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy dispersive spectrometer(EDS) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD) are employed to analyze the effect of La2(CO3)3 on microstructure and mechanical properties of ZM-5 magnesium alloy, and effect of holding time on mechanical properties of the alloy. Experimental results show that the as-cast microstructure of ZM-5 alloy with the addition of La2(CO3)3 is composed of α-Mg, β-Mg17Al12, Al11La3 and Al8LaMn4 phases and the microstructure can be refined significantly by adding La2(CO3)3. As a result, the morphology of coarse β-Mg17Al12 phase can be alternated from the semi-continuous net shape to a discontinuous, even to a granular shape, and to be diminished in their sizes and dispersed in their distributions.

Keywords

• ZM-5 magnesium alloy
• microstructure
• mechanical property
• fading