Effect on Ageing and Cerium Addition on Magnesium Alloy

Magnesium (Mg) alloys are becoming ever more ubiquitous as the need for lighter and stronger alloys has increased significantly in the past decades. Mg alloy grade AZ91D is embedded in 0.5 of cerium have a high strength-to-weight ratio and lower specific density, which is useful in the case of automobile applications. An inconclusive study by Lagowski has shown that interrupted age hardening of AZ magnesium alloy increases the yield strength by around 10%. An investigation on the developed AZ91D+0.5Ce alloy subjected to various ageing treatments was carried out in this present study. The various aged samples were investigated by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy analysis. The yield strength was also evaluated quantitatively as a function of ageing parameters. A significant increase in yield strength and hardness values was observed in the artificially aged samples due to the precipitation of Mg₁₇Al₁₂ phases.