J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2020, Vol. 44: 171-190.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2020.01.022

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Thermodynamics and kinetics of phase transformation in rare earth-magnesium alloys: A critical review

Qun Luo, Yanlin Guo, Bin Liu, Yujun Feng, Jieyu Zhang, Qian Li*(), Kuochih Chou   

  1. Materials Genome Institute & State Key Laboratory of Advanced Special Steels & Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Ferrometallurgy & Laboratory for Microstructures & Institute of Materials & School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
  • Received:2019-10-20 Revised:2019-11-27 Accepted:2019-11-27 Published:2020-05-01 Online:2020-05-21
  • Contact: Qian Li
  • About author:

    1These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract:

Magnesium and its alloys are significant superior metallic materials for structural components in automobile and aerospace industries due to their excellent physicomechanical properties. The Mg-rare earth (RE) systems have attracted great interests because RE additions can improve both the deformability and the strength of Mg alloys through solid solution strengthening and precipitation hardening mechanisms. This paper focuses on the interface stability, together with thermodynamics and kinetics of nucleation and growth of the key phases and matrix phases in Mg-RE alloys. In this paper, the theory and recent advances on Mg-RE alloys, especially for the interface stability, thermodynamics and kinetics of nucleation and growth of the key phases and matrix phases, together with their relationships with micro-structures, and macroscopic properties, are reviewed. By combining the thermodynamics/kinetics integrated simulations with various advanced experimental techniques, “reverse” design of Mg-RE alloys starting from the target service performance is put forward as a kind of scientific paradigm with rational design.

Key words: Rare earth-magnesium alloys, Thermodynamics, Kinetics, Phase, Properties