The microstructure, microsegregation, and mechanical properties of directional solidified Mg–3.0Nd–1.5Gd ternary alloys were experimentally studied. Experimental results showed that the solidification microstructure was composed of dendrite primary a(Mg) phase and interdendritic a(Mg) ? Mg12(Nd, Gd) eutectic and Mg5 Gd phase. The primary dendrite arm spacing k1 and secondary dendrite arm spacing k2 were found to be depended on the cooling rate R in the form k1= 8.0415 9 10-6R-0.279 and k2= 6.8883 9 10-6R-0.205, respectively, under the constant temperature gradient of40 K/mm and in the region of cooling rates from 0.4 to 4 K/s. The concentration profiles of Nd and Gd elements calculated by Scheil model were found to be deviated from the ones measured by EPMA to varying degrees, due to ignorance of the back diffusion of the solutes Nd and Gd within a(Mg) matrix. And microsegregation of Gd depended more on the growth rate, compared with Nd microsegregation. The directionally solidified experimental alloy exhibited higher strength than the non-directionally solidified alloy, and the tensile strength of the directionally solidified experimental alloy was improved,while the corresponding elongation decreased with the increase of growth rate.
The microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of Mg-6 Zn-2 Gd-0.5 Zr alloy during homogenization treatment were investigated. The as-cast alloy was found to be composed of dendritic primaryα-Mg matrix, α-Mg +W(Mg_3Zn_3Gd_2) eutectic along grain boundaries, and icosahedral quasicrystalline I(Mg_3Zn_6Gd) phase within α-Mg matrix. During homogenization process, α-Mg +W(Mg_3Zn_3Gd_2) eutectic and I phase gradually dissolved into a-Mg matrix, while some rod-like rare earth hydrides(GdH2)formed within α-Mg matrix. Both the tensile yield strength and the elongation showed a similar tendency as a function of homogenization temperature and holding time. The optimized homogenization parameter was determined to be 505℃ for 16 h according to the microstructure evolution. Furthermore,the diffusion kinetics equation of the solute elements derived from the Gauss model was established to predict the segregation ratio of Gd element as a function of holding time, which was proved to be effective to evaluate the homogenization effect of the experimental alloy.
