Development of High Strength Mg Alloys

Mg₉₆Zn₂Y₂ cast alloy is composed of an α-Mg phase, Mg₁₂ZnY phase and Mg₃Zn₃Y₂ phase. The coarse dendritic Mg grains have transformed into small cellular Mg grains with the addition of an increasing amount of Zr. Furthermore, increasing the cooling rate led to the precipitation of the fine Mg₃Zn₃Y₂ phase and the Mg₁₂ZnY phase forming a net-like structure. We found that this alloy has mechanical properties equivalent to those of commercial aluminum alloys with good tensile and fatigue properties at temperatures above 473 K.