Investigation on the alloy phases in as-aged ZK60 magnesium alloy

Alloy phases in the as-aged (T6) ZK60 magnesium alloy were investigated. More attentions were paid to types and morphologies of main alloy phases in the as-aged ZK60 magnesium alloy. The experimental results indicated that there was an abundant flower-shaped segregation in the solution-treated ZK60 magnesium alloy. A small quantity of undissolved compounds, MgZn2, was also found. They distributed irregularly in the form of similar parallelogram, with a dimension of 200nm-500nm and not sensitive to heat-treatment. Mg2Zn3 was found to be a main secondary compound in the as-aged ZK60 alloy, which precipitated during aging. Another precipitation phase, MgZn, in the as-aged ZK60 magnesium alloy was also found in the form of long and thin rods with a dimension of 500nm.