Microstructure and mechanical properties of spray-deposited Mg–12.55Al–3.33Zn–0.58Ca–1Nd alloy

A Mg–Al–Zn–Ca–Nd magnesium alloy was prepared by spray forming technology, and the spray-deposited alloy was subsequently hot-extruded with a reduction rate of 16:1 at 623 K. The mechanical properties of the extruded alloy were investigated, and the result shows that the spray-formed Mg alloy offers superior tensile strength with poor ductility. The morphologies, fracture characteristic and chemical compositions of the extruded alloy were then explored by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometer. Furthermore, microstructure of the extruded alloy was examined by X-ray diffractometry and transmission electron microscopy. The results indicate that the microstructure of the spray-deposited magnesium alloy consists of α-Mg and Al2Ca phases, and the Al2Ca compound is distributed along the grain boundaries of the primary α-Mg. Moreover, twin substructure is found to exist in microstructure of the Al2Ca phase, rare earth Nd in the Al2Ca phase in the form of solid solution.