Effect of Laves Phases on Creep Strength for a Mg–Al–Ca Alloy

Abstract

The effect of Laves phases, C36–(Mg,Al)₂Ca and C15–Al₂Ca, on high-temperature creep strength was quantitatively investigated for the Mg–5.0Al–1.5Ca alloy produced by die-casting. The homogenization treatment at 750 K for 1 h was carried out to divorce the interconnected skeleton of C36 phase, and the aging treatment at 523 K for 1–1000 h was performed to precipitate the C15 phase within the α-Mg grains. The creep tests to evaluate the creep strength were conducted at 447 K and 70 MPa. When the C36 skeleton is divorced, the minimum creep rate dramatically increases by a factor of 330. The coarsening of the C15 phase within the α-Mg grains increases the creep rate by a factor of 2.6. It was identified that the creep strength of the Mg–5.0Al–1.5Ca alloy is predominantly ascribed to the interconnected skeleton of C36 phase rather than the precipitation strengthening of C15 phase.

 

This Paper was Originally Published in Japanese in J. Japan Inst. Met. Mater. 88 (2024) 27–30.

Fig. 2 Creep rate vs. time in a log–log diagram at 448 K under a stress of 70 MPa for the Mg–5Al–1.5Ca alloy: as die-cast (open) and after homogenization (solid).