High thermal conductivity and high strength magnesium alloy for high pressure die casting ultrathin-walled components

Jian Rong; Wenlong Xiao; Xinqing Zhao; Chaoli Ma; Haimiao Liao; Donglei He; Ming Chen; Meng Huang; Chen Huang

doi:10.1007/s12613-021-2318-y

Volume 29 Issue 1

Jan. 2022

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Article Navigation > International Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy and Materials > 2022 > 29(1): 88-96

Jian Rong, Wenlong Xiao, Xinqing Zhao, Chaoli Ma, Haimiao Liao, Donglei He, Ming Chen, Meng Huang, and Chen Huang, High thermal conductivity and high strength magnesium alloy for high pressure die casting ultrathin-walled components, Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 29(2022), No. 1, pp. 88-96. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-021-2318-y

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Jian Rong, Wenlong Xiao, Xinqing Zhao, Chaoli Ma, Haimiao Liao, Donglei He, Ming Chen, Meng Huang, and Chen Huang, High thermal conductivity and high strength magnesium alloy for high pressure die casting ultrathin-walled components, Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 29(2022), No. 1, pp. 88-96. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-021-2318-y

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Research Article

High thermal conductivity and high strength magnesium alloy for high pressure die casting ultrathin-walled components

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Corresponding author:
Wenlong Xiao E-mail: wlxiao@buaa.edu.cn
Received: 13 May 2021; Revised: 10 June 2021; Accepted: 17 June 2021; Available online: 18 June 2021

Abstract

Abstract

With the rapid development of 3C industries, the demand for high-thermal-conductivity magnesium alloys with high mechanical performance is increasing quickly. However, the thermal conductivities of most common Mg foundry alloys (such as Mg–9wt%–1wt%Zn) are still relatively low. In this study, we developed a high-thermal-conductivity Mg–4Al–4Zn–4RE–1Ca (wt%, AZEX4441) alloy with good mechanical properties for ultrathin-walled cellphone components via high-pressure die casting (HPDC). The HPDC AZEX4441 alloy exhibited a fine homogeneous microstructure (average grain size of 2.8 μm) with granular Al₁₁RE₃, fibrous Al₂REZn₂, and networked Ca₆Mg₂Zn₃ phases distributed at the grain boundaries. The room-temperature thermal conductivity of the HPDC AZEX4441 alloy was 94.4 W·m^–1·K^–1, which was much higher than 53.7 W·m^–1·K^–1 of the HPDC AZ91D alloy. Al and Zn in the AZEX4441 alloy were largely consumed by the formation of Al₁₁RE₃, Al₂REZn₂, and Ca₂Mg₆Zn₃ phases because of the addition of RE and Ca. Therefore, the lattice distortion induced by solute atoms of the AZEX4441 alloy (0.171%) was much lower than that of the AZ91D alloy (0.441%), which was responsible for the high thermal conductivity of the AZEX4441 alloy. The AZEX4441 alloy exhibited a high yield strength of ~185 MPa, an ultimate tensile strength of ~233 MPa, and an elongation of ~4.2%. This result indicated that the tensile properties were comparable with those of the AZ91D alloy. Therefore, this study contributed to the development of high-performance Mg alloys with a combination of high thermal conductivity, high strength, and good castability.
- magnesium alloys;
- microstructure;
- thermal conductivity;
- mechanical properties;
- high-pressure die casting

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