Effects of Ce-rich RE on microstructure and mechanical properties of as-cast Mg-8Li-3Al-2Zn-0.5Nd alloy with duplex structure

The effects of Ce-rich RE on the microstructure and mechanical properties of as-cast Mg-8Li-3Al-2Zn-0.5Nd-xRE (x = 0, 1, 2, 3 wt%) alloys were investigated. The results indicated that the as-cast Mg-8Li-3Al-2Zn-0.5Nd alloy mainly consisted of α-Mg, β-Li, AlLi, MgLi₂Al and Al₂Nd phases. With the addition of Ce-rich RE in the alloy, Al₃RE and Al₂RE phases generated and gradually grew into net-like or block-like structure. With the addition of RE, Al-RE phases generated by consuming Al element and, thus, less Al element was dissolved in the matrix and less AlLi phase formed. Furthermore, less AlLi phase means that more Li element released to cause the increase of β-Li phase and refine the α-Mg phase. Under the influence of these factors, adding more RE led to higher elongation and lower tensile strength and hardness. With the addition of Ce-rich RE, the yield strength and ultimate tensile strength of the as-cast Mg-8Li-3Al-2Zn-0.5Nd alloy gradually decreased from 180 to 152 MPa and from 215 to 193 MPa, respectively, while the elongation was remarkably improved from 21.1% to 40.2%.