The effect of cooling rate on thermophysical properties of magnesium alloys

Thermophysical properties such as phase-transformation temperatures and enthalpy of solidification depend on the composition and on the solidification conditions. To analyze the effects of the cooling rate on these properties, three commercial magnesium alloys (AZ91D, AM60B, and AE44) have been studied. Phase-transformation temperatures and enthalpy of solidification of these alloys have been measured using differential scanning calorimetry. Solidification curves have been obtained experimentally and compared with thermodynamic calculations. For all the studied alloys, it has been found that with increasing cooling rate, liquidus temperature increases slightly, whereas solidus temperature decreases. Enthalpy of solidification increases significantly with increasing cooling rate. Finally, relationships of phase-transformation temperature and enthalpy of solidification as a function of cooling rate have been established on the basis of the general power law. Using these relationships, the phase-transformation temperature and enthalpy of solidification have been predicted at high cooling rates and compared with experimental results.