Microstructures and mechanical properties of AZ91 alloy with combined additions of Ca and Si

Ca and Si additions to AZ91 alloy have been investigated and the results show that addition of Ca or Ca combined with Si resulted in the refinement of the as-cast microstructure, increase the thermal stability of b phase and the inhibition of discontinuous precipitations. Small amounts of Ca added to the AZ91 alloy mainly dissolved into b phase and raised the thermal stability of the phase, thus strengthening the alloy at elevated temperatures. Combined additions of Si with Ca to the AZ91 alloy were more effective on increasing the tensile strength at both ambient and elevated temperatures. The creep resistance of the alloy was also improved significantly in the alloy with Ca and Si additions. The creep rate of the alloy containing 0.3% Ca and 0.6% Si, tested at 473 K and 50 MPa, was one order of magnitude lower than that of the base alloy (without Ca and Si addition). The mechanism of mechanical properties improvement caused by Ca and Si was also discussed.