The Development of a High-Strength Mg-10.3Gd-4.4Y-0.9Zn-0.7Mn Alloy Subjected to Large Differential-Thermal Extrusion and Isothermal Aging

Abstract

The large differential-thermal extrusion (LDTE) process, a novel approach for efficiently fabricating a high-strength Mg-10.3Gd-4.4Y-0.9Zn-0.7Mn (wt.%) alloy, is introduced in this work. Unlike typical isothermal extrusion processes, where the ingot and die temperatures are kept the same, LDTE involves significantly higher ingot temperatures (~120 °C) compared to the die temperature. For high-strength Mg-RE alloys, the maximum isothermal extrusion ram speed is normally limited to 1 mm/s. This research uses the LDTE process to significantly increase the ram speed to 2.0 mm/s. The LPTE-processed alloy possesses a phase composition that is similar to that of isothermal extruded alloys, including α-Mg, 14H-type long-period stacking ordered (LPSO) and β-Mg5(Gd, Y) phases. The weakly preferentially oriented α-Mg grains in the LDTE-processed alloy have <101¯0>Mg//ED fibrous and <0001>Mg//ED anomalous textures as their two main constituents. After isothermal aging, high quantitative densities of prismatic β′ and basal γ′ precipitates are produced, which have the beneficial effect of precipitation hardening. With a yield tensile strength of 344 MPa, an ultimate tensile strength of 488 MPa, and an elongation of 9.7%, the alloy produced by the LDTE process exhibits an exceptional strength–ductility balance, further demonstrating the potential of this method for efficiently producing high-strength Mg alloys.