The Use of In Situ X-ray Imaging Methods in the Research and Development of Magnesium-Based Grain-Refined and Nanocomposite Materials

摘要

Metallurgists have an ever-increasing suite of analytical techniques at their disposition. Among these techniques are the in situ methods, being those approaches that are designed to actually study events that occur in the material during for instance solidification, ( thermo)-mechanical working or heat treatment. As such they are a powerful tool in unraveling the mechanisms behind these processes, supplementary to ex situ methods that instead analyze the materials before and after their processing. In this paper, case studies are presented of how in situ imaging methods-and more specifically micro-focus x-ray radiography and synchrotron x-ray tomography-are used in the research and development of magnesium-based grain-refined and nanocomposite materials. These results are drawn from the EC collaborative research project ExoMet ( www.exomet-project.eu). The first example concerns the solidification of a Mg-Nd-Gd alloy with Zr addition to assess the role of zirconium content and cooling rate in crystal nucleation and growth. The second example concerns the solidification of a Mg-Zn-Al alloy and its SiC-containing nanocomposite material to reveal the influence of particle addition on microstructural development. The third example concerns the ( partial) melting-solidification of Elektron21/AlN and Elektron21/Y2O3 nanocomposite materials to study such effects as particle pushing/engulfment and agglomeration during repeated processing. Such studies firstly visualize and by that confirm what is known or assumed. Secondly, they advance science by monitoring and quantifying phenomena as they evolve during processing and by that contribute toward a better understanding of the physics at play.