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Effect of Zn content on the microstructures and mechanical properties of laser beam-welded ZK series magnesium alloys

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Abstract

The effect of Zn content on the microstructures and mechanical properties of laser beam welded ZK series magnesium alloys (ZK21, ZK40, and ZK60) has been studied. Owing to the lower heat input, laser beam welding can successfully be employed to weld ZK series magnesium alloys having Zn content up to 4 wt%, which are difficult to weld by means of conventional arc welding. However, ZK60 is susceptible to solidification cracking and presents a poor weldability, which may originate from the net-like distribution of more Mg51Zn20 precipitates along grain boundaries (GBs) in the fusion zone (FZ). With increasing Zn content, the amount and size of precipitates along GBs in the FZ increase, and the morphology of grains in the FZ adjacent to fusion boundary changes from cellular to equiaxed dendritic. The grains in the FZ of ZK40 alloy are the finest among the three alloys, whose size is only about 4.8 μm, and the ZK40-welded joint achieves the highest ultimate tensile strength of 312 MPa, which is up to 90.4% of the base metal.

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Acknowledgements

The research study described in this article was supported by the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University of Ministry of Education of China (NCET-06-0701).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Hunan University, 410082, Changsha, China

    Z. H. Yu, H. G. Yan, J. H. Chen & Y. Z. Wu

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  1. Z. H. Yu
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  2. H. G. Yan
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  3. J. H. Chen
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  4. Y. Z. Wu
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Correspondence to H. G. Yan.

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Yu, Z.H., Yan, H.G., Chen, J.H. et al. Effect of Zn content on the microstructures and mechanical properties of laser beam-welded ZK series magnesium alloys. J Mater Sci 45, 3797–3803 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-010-4434-3

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