Effects of heat treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of rolled AM50+xCa magnesium alloys

Effects of solution and aging treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of rolled AM50+xCa alloys(x=0, 1, 2 wt. %) were studied. The results indicated that, with increasing solution time i, the secondary phase Mg17Al12 was dissolved into the Mg matrix and Al2Ca became thinner and shorter, then gradually broken and spheroidized. With an increase of aging time, Mg17Al12 precipitated from the Mg matrix in the form of particles and Al2Ca changed a little. After solution treatment, hardness and tensile properties of the alloy's decreased. After the aging treatment, the alloy's hardness increased first and decreased later while the tensile properties increased little. The solution and aging treatment can increase the ductility of AM50 and AM50+1Ca alloys. For AM50+2Ca alloy, the ductility increased after solid solution treatment and decreased after aging treatment.