• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.113-119
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• 2013

Grain growth behaviors of hot-rolled AZ31 (Mg-3%Al-1%Zn) and AZ31-0.3%CaO alloys at elevated temperatures have been investigated in order to clarify the effect of CaO addition on grain stability of Mg-Al-based wrought alloy. The grain size of CaO-free alloy increased steeply from 673 K with an increase in annealing temperature from 573 to 773 K, whereas the grains of CaO-containing alloy were relatively stable up to 723 K. The activation energies for grain growth ($E_g$) were 12.2 and 18.3 kJ/mole between 573 and 673 K and 119.2 and 126.9 kJ/mole between 673 and 773 K in the AZ31 and AZ31-0.3%CaO alloys, respectively. This result indicates that grains in the CaO-added alloy possess higher thermal stability than CaO-free alloy. SEM observations on the annealed alloy samples revealed that higher grain stability resulting from CaO addition would be associated with the suppression of grain growth by Ca-related precipitate particles distributed in the microstructure.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.272-276
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• 2006

For the first time AZ91 (MgAl9Zn1) and AM60 (MgAl6) Mg alloy foams with homogeneous pore structures were prepared successfully via melting foaming method by using $CaCO_3$ powder as blowing agent. The possible foaming mechanisms and pore structures of these Mg alloy foams were discussed and investigated. The results show that Mg alloy melt can affect $CaCO_3$ decomposition behavior and AZ91 Mg alloy is relative easy to be foamed into metal foam with high porosity and big pore size.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.12-17
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• 2024

Aluminum-zinc-magnesium alloy is a well-known alloy that is both strong and lightweight. Precipitation strengthening plays a significant role in the strength mechanism of this alloy, with nano-sized η-based precipitates being the representative precipitates. However, the growth of η precipitates can lead to a decrease in strength, necessitating research into ways to control their growth. In this study, we observed the atomic-level behavior of η₂ precipitates and discovered that the precipitates grew through a combination with magnesium after a zinc segregation layer was formed around them.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.534-538
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• 2018

The annealing characteristics of a cold rolled Al-6.5Mg-1.5Zn alloy newly designed as an automobile material is investigated in detail. The aluminum alloy in the ingot state is cut to a thickness of 4 mm, a total width of 30 mm and a length of 100 mm and then reduced to a thickness of 1 mm (reduction of 75 %) by multi-pass rolling at room temperature. Annealing after rolling is performed at temperatures ranging from 200 to $400^{\circ}C$ for 1 hour. The tensile strength of the annealed material tends to decrease with the annealing temperature and shows a maximum tensile strength of 482MPa in the material annealed at $200^{\circ}C$. The tensile elongation of the annealed material increases with the annealing temperature, while the tensile strength does not, and reaches a maximum value of 26 % at the $350^{\circ}C$ annealed material. For the microstructure, recovery and recrystallization actively occur as the annealing temperature increases. The recrystallization begins to occur at $300^{\circ}C$ and is completed at $350^{\circ}C$, which results in the formation of a fine grained structure. After the rolling, the rolling texture of {112}<111>(Cu-Orientation) develops, but after the annealing a specific texture does not develop.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.98-103
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• 2012

Recently, development of Al-based alloys for high mechanical performance has been an important issue in automotive industry. The present study focused on the design of a high strength Al-based alloy for rheo-diecasting. The research was based on thermodynamic calculation and experimentals to optimize the alloy compositions. Two important considerations were carried out: i) to obtain uniform slurry with fine and globular microstructures for rheo-diecasting, ii) to be strengthend by T6 heat treatment. In order to evaluate the effect of Si content on the slurry microstructure and castability, thermodynamic calculation and fluidity test were carried out. The effects of various alloying components, such as Mg, Cu and Zn, on age hardenability were also investigated. The mechanical properties of the rheo-diecasting products using the newly developed alloy are 324MPa in tensile strength, 289MPa in yield strength, and 11.2% in elongation after T6 heat treatment.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.117-122
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• 1999

This study investigated the corrosion rate of aluminum in alkaline solution. It was performed to observe the effects of alloy element, alkalinity (KOH concentration), solution temperature, and inhibitor and its concentration in the solution. Among species of aluminum, AA-1050 showed the lowest corrosion rate due to its high purity $(>199\%)$, whereas alloys containing Mg anuor Mn were highly corroded, relatively. The corrosion rate could be reduced over than $50\%$ by saturating the solution with ZnO, while ZnAc did not work as an inhibitor. The inhibition effect of ZnO increased with increasing the alkalinity and solution temperature. It was found that the corrosion rate linearly increased with the concentration of KOH in first order and exponentially decreased with the inverse of the solution temperature. An analysis of the corroded material covered the surface of aluminum was made by SEM and EDS. According to the analytical results by using XRD, it was confirmed that $Al(OH)_3$ was produced from the corrosion of aluminum in KOH solution.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.62-68
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• 2016

A chromium-free Ce-based conversion coating formed by immersion in a solution containing cerium chloride and nitric acid on AZ31 magnesium alloy has been studied. The effects of acid pickling on the morphology and the corrosion resistance of the cerium conversion coating were investigated. The corrosion resistance of the conversion coating prepared on AZ31 Mg alloy after organic acid pickling was better than that of inorganic acid pickling. The morphology of the conversion-coated layer was observed using optical microscope and SEM. Results show that the conversion coatings are relatively uniform and continuous, with thickness 1.0 to $1.1{\mu}m$. The main elements of the conversion coating of AZ31 Mg alloy are Mg, O, Al, Ce and Zn by EDS analysis. The electrochemical polarization results showed that the Ce-based conversion coating could reduce the corrosion activity of the AZ31 Mg alloy substrates in the presence of chloride ions.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.429-436
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• 2001

The effect of welding condition on the microstructures of the weld metal in A7N01 welded by $CO_2$ laser was investigated. The number of ripples was increased with decreasing power and increasing welding speed. In the bead without ripple lines, the subgrain microstructures distribution from the fusion line toward the center of the bead were in the order of cellular, dendritic and equiaxed dendrite. However, in the bead with ripple lines, cellular and dendritic were formed between the fusion boundary and the ripple line. Inaddition, those structures were also observed between the ripple line. Equiaxed dendrites were formed only at the center line region. Cellular and dendritics formed near the ripple line were larger than those formed near the fusion boundary. The cooling rates estimated by the dendrite arm spacing were in the range of 200 to 1150oC/s. Cooling rate was increased with decreasing the power and increasing the welding speed. Mg and Zn segregated at the boundaries of cellulars and dendritics, Mg was segregated more than Zn. The segregation of Mg and Zn decreased with increasing cooling rate. Hardness of the weld metal was lower than that of the base metal in all welding conditions and increased as the cooling rate increased.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 2021

PosMAC^® is a brand of Zn-Mg-Al hot-dip coated steel sheet developed by POSCO. PosMAC^® can form dense surface oxides in corrosive environments, providing advanced corrosion resistance compared to traditional Zn coatings such as GI and GA. PosMAC^® 3.0 is available for construction and solar energy systems in severe outdoor environments. PosMAC^®1.5 has better surface quality. It is suitable for automotive and home appliances. Compared to GI and GA, PosMAC^® shows significantly less weight reduction due to corrosion, even with a lower coating thickness. Thin coating of PosMAC^® provides advanced quality and productivity in arc welding applications due to its less generation of Zn fume and spatters. In repeated friction tests, PosMAC^® showed lower surface friction coefficient than conventional coatings such as GA, GI, and lubricant film coated GA. Industrial demand for PosMAC^® steel is expected to increase in the near future due to benefits of anti-corrosion and robust application performance of PosMAC^® steel.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.42-45
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• 2017

The magnesium-base AZ61 alloy was cast while adding 1% CaO powder into the melt. It was hot extruded, and oxidized at $550-650^{\circ}C$ in air in order to study its microstructure and oxidation behavior. Initially added CaO powder reacted with Al in the melt to $Al_2Ca$ particles that aligned along the extrusion direction. The formed $Al_2Ca$ particles increased the oxidation resistance through forming the superficial CaO scale at the upper part of the thin MgO oxide scale.