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Progress Made in Research on Toughening High-Performance Magnesium Alloys
As the lightest metallic structural material currently used in engineering applications, magnesium alloys meet the long-term weight-reduction targets in sectors such as aerospace and rail transportation, thereby offering broad prospects for application. However, compared with traditional metallic materials like steel and aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys exhibit several notable performance shortcomings, including relatively low absolute mechanical strength, which severely limits their large-scale deployment in these fields. In recent years, China’s high-end equipment industry has placed increasingly stringent demands on enhancing the performance of lightweight magnesium alloys and enabling the fabrication of larger-scale components; consequently, the development of large-size, high-strength and ultra-high-strength magnesium alloy materials for engineering applications has become a top priority.
According to a report by Science and Technology Daily, researchers at Shenyang University of Chemical Technology have learned that a team led by Professor Li Rongguang from the School of Mechanical and Power Engineering has recently put forward several academic propositions, including “developing a strengthening approach that fully leverages the synergy between strong texture and high-density nanoscale precipitates to fabricate large-size, high-performance Mg–Gd binary alloy bars” and “employing a strengthening mechanism based on nanostructured interface segregation combined with high-density nanocluster formation to produce high-performance Mg–Gd binary alloy sheets.” These research findings provide fundamental theoretical guidance for the development of ultra-high-strength magnesium alloy materials. The relevant research results were recently published in Materials Research Letters.
To investigate the fabrication techniques and strengthening–toughening mechanisms of large-size, high-performance magnesium alloy bars, Professor Li Rongguang’s team collaborated with research institutions including Northeastern University, Harbin Engineering University, and Xi’an Jiaotong University. By employing a low-temperature extrusion process with a small extrusion ratio in combination with an aging treatment, they successfully produced large-size Mg–13Gd binary magnesium alloy bars with a mixed-grain microstructure, achieving a yield strength of up to 470 MPa. The study revealed that the high strength of these mixed-grain magnesium alloys primarily stems from the synergistic effects of high-density nanoscale precipitates within elongated grains and a strong texture. Regarding the strengthening and ductility-improving mechanisms of magnesium alloy sheets, the team conducted an in-depth analysis of the plastic deformation behavior of ultrafine-grained magnesium–rare-earth alloys. They adopted a processing route involving single-pass rolling at 270°C to achieve a 60% reduction in thickness, followed by further deformation of the resulting ultrafine-grained alloy. This approach yielded Mg–15Gd binary alloy sheets with a yield strength exceeding 500 MPa; moreover, after aging, the as-rolled alloy exhibited a trend toward enhanced texture. The rolling process promotes the formation of a high volume fraction of low-angle grain boundaries and a high density of dislocations within the fine grains of the ultrafine-grained alloy; during aging, these high-density dislocations effectively drive the nucleation and growth of dense nanoclusters inside the grains. The results indicate that the elevated yield strength of this magnesium alloy is attributable to the combined effects of a high content of substructural interfaces and Gd segregation at these interfaces, a high density of nanoclusters, a high density of submicron dynamic precipitates, and a pronounced texture. Furthermore, the increased formation of low-angle grain boundaries and nanoclusters helps reduce elastic lattice distortion in the matrix, thereby enhancing the alloy’s ductility.
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