Comparison of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of AZ91D Alloy Formed by Rheomolding and High-Pressure Die Casting

摘要

The microstructure and mechanical properties of AZ91D alloy thin-wall parts produced by the rheomolding (RM) process were investigated and compared with the same alloy formed by conventional high-pressure die casting (HPDC). The results indicate that the RM process is able to get such AZ91D parts in which alpha (1) -Mg with average size of 27.36 mu m are spherical and uniformly distributed in the matrix, and the matrix is a mixture of numerous fine alpha (2) -Mg and intermetallic beta-Mg17Al12. High mechanical properties including ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 270 MPa, yield strength (YS) of 169 MPa, elongation of 7.1%, and Vickers hardness of 102 are obtained in parts formed by RM due to the fine and uniform microstructure and less porosities. Compared with HPDC, the UTS, YS, elongation, and hardness of RM AZ91D are increased by 14.4, 9.7, 86.8, and 21.4%, respectively. The solidified grains in RM AZ91D alloy show a smaller aluminum gradient than that in HPDC. This indicates that the solidification of the RM AZ91D is closer to equilibrium.