Evaluation of Magnesium Die-Casting Alloys for Elevated Temperature Applications: Microstructure, Tensile Properties, and Creep Resistance

Several families of magnesium die-casting alloys have been developed to operate at the elevated temperatures experienced in automotive powertrain applications. Most alloys are based on the Mg-Al system with alloying additions such as silicon, strontium, calcium, and rare earth elements (RE), although alloys with RE as the primary alloying constituent are also considered. This work presents an evaluation of the tensile properties and creep resistance of the most common magnesium die-casting alloys, in conjunction with the analysis of microstructure. The alloys investigated include AS31 (Mg-3Al-1Si), AJ52 (Mg-5Al-2Sr), MRI153A (Mg-9Al-1Ca-0.1Sr), MRI153M (Mg-8Al-1Ca-0.3Sr), MRI230D (Mg-6.5Al-2Ca-1Sn-0.3Sr), AXJ530 (Mg-5Al-3Ca-0.2Sr), AE42 (Mg-4Al-2RE), AE44 (Mg-4Al-4RE), and AM-HP2+ (Mg-3.5RE-0.4Zn). It is shown that, among the various alloys evaluated, MRI230D, AXJ530, and AM-HP2+ have higher yield strength than the Al alloy A380, but the ductility is relatively low at room temperature for these alloys. In contrast, AS31 and the AE series alloys have very good room temperature ductility, but their yield strength is lower than that of A380. In terms of creep resistance, MRI230D, AXJ530, AE44, and AM-HP2+ are all comparable to the Al alloy counterpart at 423 K and 448 K (150 °C and 175 °C). Microstructural factors that are most important to the strength and creep resistance of the Mg die-casting alloys are discussed.