QUALIFICATION OF RECYCLED MAGNESIUM TYPE 1 DIE CASTING...

摘要

The use of die cast magnesium in automotive applications has been growing at a rate of approximately 19% over the last five years. To maintain this growth rate, it becomes increasingly important to be able to recycle scrap generated in the die casting process into metal that it is indistinguishable from alloy derived from electrolytically produced magnesium (virgin alloy). To help meet the demand for an increase in magnesium recycling capacity, a new manufacturing plant (MagReTech, Bellevue, OH) has begun producing recycled alloy from type I magnesium die casting scrap. In order to qualify the MagReTech-produced alloy for Chrysler automotive components, a qualification program was initiated. In this program, three heats each of magnesium alloy AZ91D, AM60B, and AM50A produced at MagReTech were subjected to a series of tests to compare overall performance to Dow virgin material. The evaluation included chemistry measurements and cleanliness analysis of the recycled metal, mechanical property and corrosion testing of die cast test specimens, and a testing program of actual production parts. The results of the qualification program are detailed in this paper. At the time of publication, MagReTech AZ91D is fully qualified for Chrysler automotive applications; production component testing of alloys AM50A and AM60B has not been completed.