Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of a Ag Micro-Alloyed Mg-5Sn Alloy

Effects of 1.5 wt.% Ag addition and solid solution + artificial ageing at 160 °C on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a Mg-5Sn alloy have been studied. The results show that Ag addition has significantly hardened the solution-treated Mg-5Sn alloy. During the ageing process, the hardness increase rate and the strength and ductility of the Mg-5Sn alloy at each state are also improved by Ag addition. The improved strengthening behavior is primarily attributed to the refinement distribution of the Mg2Sn precipitates, the enhanced precipitation process, and the synergistic strengthening effect of Mg2Sn and a metastable plate DO19 phase formed at lower ageing temperature. For each solution-treated alloy, the strength and ductility are higher than the corresponding cast ones. Ageing further enhances the yield strength, and the ductility of the Mg-5Sn-1.5Ag alloy is also increased after ageing. The fracture surfaces of the both peak-aged alloys exhibit the characteristic of a mixture of quasi-cleavage and ductile fracture.