Influence of Applied Pressure on Tensile Behaviour and Microstructure of Squeeze Cast Mg Alloy AM50 with Ca Addition

The development of alternative manufacturing processes is essential for the success in applying Ca-containing magnesium alloys for automotive applications due to their relatively poor die castability. Squeeze casting with its inherent advantages has been demonstrated capable of minimizing the formation of casting defects in Mg-Al-Ca alloys. In this study, the effect of applied pressures on tensile behavior and microstructure of squeeze cast Mg-5wt.%Al-1%wt.%Ca alloy (AMX501) was investigated with the applied pressure varying from 3 to 90 MPa. The results of tensile testing indicate that the tensile properties of AMX501 alloy including ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation (E _f) increase from 153.7, 80 MPa and 3.26% to 183.7, 90.5, and 5.42% with increasing applied pressure levels from 3 to 90 MPa, respectively. The analysis of true stress versus strain curves shows that an increase in applied pressure levels result in high straining hardening rates during the plastic deformation of the alloy. Microstructural analysis and density measurements indicate that, as the applied pressure increases, the porosity levels of the alloy decrease considerably, despite of almost no significant reduction in grain sizes of the squeeze cast alloys due to their high aspect ratio of cylindrical castings. Hence, the improvement in tensile properties should be primarily attributed to casting densification resulting from applied pressures. The scanning electron microscopy observation on fractured surfaces reveals that the fracture modes of the squeeze cast alloys transit to ductile from brittle with increasing applied pressures.