Improving properties of Mg with Al-Cu additions

The present work reports improvement in tensile properties of the Mg matrix reinforced with micron-sized copper-aluminum particulate hybrids. The Al-Cu particulate hybrids were incorporated into the Mg matrix through powder metallurgy method. The synthesized alloys exhibited homogeneously dispersed Mg2Cu particles in the matrix, therefore leading to a 110% increase in yield strength (221 MPa) and a 72% enhancement in ultimate tensile strength (284 MPa) by addition of 1.0 wt.%Al-0.6 wt.%Cu particle hybrids. Optical microscopy, scanning election microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to investigate the microstructure and intermetallic phases of the synthesized alloys. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.