With the global trend towards reducing energy consumption, magnesium alloys are increasingly becoming attractive as materials of choice for manufacturing "lightweight" components. Recently, efforts have focused on developing magnesium alloy powder production and consolidation technologies with the ultimate goal of manufacturing high performance lightweight structural components. This paper highlights the results of investigation into the effects of powder characteristics on the consolidation behavior of WE43 and Elektron21 ground alloy powders. Consolidation techniques such as spark plasma sintering, powder forging, and hot isostatic pressing were investigated. The resulting mechanical properties and microstructures for each consolidation technique are related back to the starting powder microstructure. The results of this study provide an understanding of important powder characteristics of magnesium alloys that are critical in developing high performance powder metallurgy components.
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