Powertrain Components - Opportunities for the Die Cast AE Family of Alloys

By selecting the right combination of alloy and processing method, a wide range of temperature exposed drive train parts can be made out of die cast magnesium, including engine blocks and automatic transmissions as probably the most demanding components. Successful new alloys for these purposes must fulfill a multitude of requirements to offer a viable solution, including mechanical properties, corrosion properties, die castability and recyclability. Therefore, selection of alloys must be based on the customers' requirements, at the same time as other factors are optimised. In this paper, results from the ongoing alloy development work by Hydro Magnesium are presented, focusing mainly on creep resistant alloys within the Mg-Al-RE system. High temperature tensile data, tensile creep-, stress relaxation- and bolt load retention results from a selection of AE alloys and reference alloys are presented.