Effects of Non-isothermal Aging on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of WE43 Alloy

In the present work, the effect of non-isothermal aging (NIA) on the microstructural and mechanical properties of WE43 alloy was investigated by microhardness measurements, transmission electron microscopy observations and tensile tests. The effects of initial and secondary aging temperature and the heating/cooling rate of the NIA processes on the properties were systematically examined. While β″ precipitates formed during the continuous heating from 150 to 250 °C, secondary precipitation was observed in the continuously cooled samples from 250 to 150 °C. Similar mechanical properties compared to the peak-aged T6 sample (at 250 °C for 16 h) were obtained by NIA processes. However, continuous cooling, which leads to high mechanical properties after about 6 h of aging, was more efficient in time. NIA processes performed for the first time on Mg-Y-Nd-based alloys showed that high mechanical properties can be obtained in shorter period by tuning the properties of the precipitates.