HIGH PERFORMANCE MG-SYSTEM ALLOYS FOR WEIGHT SAVING APPLICATIONS: FIRST YEAR RESULTS FROM THE GREEN METALLURGY EU PROJECT

摘要

The GREEN METALLURGY Project, a LIFE+ project cofinancedby the EU Commission, has just concluded its first year.The Project seeks to set manufacturing processes at a preindustrialscale for nanostructured-based high-performance Mg-Zn(Y) magnesium alloys. The Project’s goal is the reduction ofspecific energy consumed and the overall carbon-footprintproduced in the cradle-to-exit gate phases. Preliminary resultsaddressed potentialities of the upstream manufacturing processpathway. Two Mg-Zn(Y) system alloys with rapid solidifyingpowders have been produced and directly extruded for 100%densification. Examination of the mechanical properties showedthat such materials exhibit strength and elongation comparable toseveral high performing aluminum alloys; 390 MPa and 440 MPafor the average UTS for two different system alloys, and 10% and15% elongations for two system alloys. These results, togetherwith the low-environmental impact targeted, make these novel Mgalloys competitive as lightweight high-performance materials forautomotive components.