A Study on the Aging Behavior of a Mg-8.5Li-4.5Al alloy by Differential Scanning Calorimetry

열분석법에 의한 Mg-8.5Li-4.5Al합금의 시효거동 연구

Precipitation and strengthening mechanisms in squeeze cast Mg-8.5wt%Li-4.5wt%Al have been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry(DSC), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), in-situ and ex-situ X-ray diffraction analysis and hardness measurement. Special emphasis was placed on the investigation of the precipitation behavior by the DSC technique. Microstructural and calorimetric analysis showed that ${\theta}$ and ${\delta}$ precipitates in the b.c.c. ${\beta}$ phase matrix, forming two exothermic peaks at the temperature ranges of $130^{\circ}C{\sim}180^{\circ}C$ and $236^{\circ}C{\sim}280^{\circ}C$. ${\theta}$ and ${\delta}$ dissolve into the matrix forming an endothermic peak at the temperature range of $280^{\circ}C{\sim}352^{\circ}C$. The as-cast microstructure consists of ${\alpha}$, ${\beta}$ and ${\delta}$. Peak strength was obtained after aging for 1 hour at $50^{\circ}C$. The aging time required for the peak strength decreased as the aging temperature increases. The hardness decrease during overaging was due to the coarsening of ${\theta}$ precipitates. Microhardness measurement showed that variation of the hardness of ${\beta}$ matrix was more pronounced than that of the ${\alpha}$ phase, indicating that the ${\beta}$ phase is more responsible for the strengthening of the Mg-8.5wt%Li-4.5wt%Al alloy.