• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.10
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• pp.544-550
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• 2018

The passivation of AZ91D Mg alloys by plasma anodization requires deliberate choice of process parameters due to the presence of large amounts of structural defects. We study the dependence of pore formation, surface roughness and corrosion resistance on voltage by comparing the direct current (DC) mode and the pulse wave (pulse) mode in which anodization is performed. In the DC plasma anodization mode, the thickness of the electrolytic oxide film of the AZ91D alloy is uneven. In the pulse mode, the thickness is relatively uniform and the formed thin film has a three-layer structure. The pulse mode creates less roughness, uniform thickness and improved corrosion resistance. Thus, the change of power mode from DC to pulse at 150 V decreases the surface roughness (Ra) from $0.9{\mu}m$ to $0.1{\mu}m$ and increases the corrosion resistance in rating number (RN) from 5 to 9.5. Our study shows that an optimal oxide film can be obtained with a pulse voltage of 150 V, which produces an excellent coating on the AZ91D casting alloy.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.5 no.6
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• pp.218-221
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• 2006

Influence of microstructure on the corrosion property of Mg-Al-Zn alloy was investigated using potentiodynamic polarization experiments, galvanic coupling experiments, and scanning electron microscopy in sodium chloride solutions. Pitting was the most common form of attack in chloride solution, and filiform corrosion was also occurred in AZ91D-T4 alloy. On the contrary, filiform attack in the bulk matrix was predominant corrosion form in AZ91D-T6 alloy, and the number and size of pit were decreased than those of AZ91D-T4 alloy. Galvanic coupling effect between $Mg_{17}Al_{12}$ and matrix was existed, but the propagation of galvanic corrosion was localized only near the $Mg_{17}Al_{12}$ phase in AZ91D-6T alloy. The corrosion resistance of Mg-Al matrix increased with decreasing Al content in the matrix. And, it could be regarded that Al content in the matrix is decreased by precipitation of $Mg_{17}Al_{12}$ during the aging treatment and it decreases the anodic reaction rate of the matrix and galvanic effect in AZ91D-T6 alloy. It could be considered that the composition and microstructure of surface protective layer would be varied by precipitation of $Mg_{17}Al_{12}$ and subsequent decreasing of Al content in the matrix. And it would contribute the corrosion resistance of AZ91D-T6 aging alloy.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.190-199
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• 2015

The study is intended to investigate the effect of solution treatment on microstructure and corrosion behavior of AZ91(Mg-9%Al-1%Zn-0.3%Mn)-2%Ca casting alloy. In as-cast state, the AZ91-2%Ca alloy consisted of intermetallic ${\beta}(Mg_{17}Al_{12})$, $Al_8Mn_5$ and $Al_2Ca$ phases in ${\alpha}-(Mg)$ matrix. After the solution treatment, Al within the ${\alpha}-(Mg)$ matrix was distributed more homogeneously, along with the slight decrease in the total amount of intermetallic compounds. The corrosion resistance of the AZ91-2%Ca alloy was improved after the solution treatment. The microstructural examinations for the solution-treated samples revealed that the better corrosion resistance may well be related to the incorporation of more oxides and hydroxides such as $Al_2O_3$, $Al(OH)_3$, CaO and $Ca(OH)_2$ into the surface corrosion product without dissolution of the intermetallic phases along the grain boundaries.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.130-136
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• 2003

Rheocasting of AZ91D magnesium alloys yielded the microstructure consisted of the spherical primary particles in the matrix which is different from conventional casting. Rheocast ingots were produced under various processing conditions using batch type rheocaster. Morphology of primary particles was changed from rosette-shape to spherical shape with increasing stirring rate$(V_s)$ and decreasing isothermal stirring temperature$(T_s)$. With increasing $V_s$, more effective shearing between the particles occurred rather than the agglomeration and clustering, so the primary particle size decreased. But with decreasing $T_s$, primary particle size increased mainly due to sintering and partially Ostwald ripening. The sphericity of primary particles increased with increasing $V_s$ and decreasing $T_s$ due to enhanced abrasion among the primary particles. The uniformity of primary particle size increased with increasing Vs and $T_s$.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.593-600
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• 2012

Thixomolding of Mg-alloy is a semi-solid injection molding process utilizing thixotropic phenomenon. Using this process, higher strength, thinner wall section and tighter tolerance without porosity are obtained. It has been applied for production of near-net-shape magnesium component. To design optimal thixomolding process of Mg-alloy part, molding conditions such as slurry temperature, mold temperature and injection time should be determined properly. Selection of these parameters has been dependent upon engineers' experience and intuitiveness. In this paper, to improve mechanical properties of the thixomolded product, optimal selection of process variables such as injection velocity, barrel temperature and die temperature in the process has been studied through microstructural analysis and Taguchi method. Performance of the process is verified through experiments.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.220-230
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• 2018

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of solution treatment on the microstructure and corrosion behavior of cast AZ91-4%RE magnesium alloy. In the as-cast state, microstructure of the AZ91-4%RE alloy was characterized by intermetallic ${\beta}(Mg_{17}Al_{12})$, $Al_{11}RE_3$ and $Al_2RE$ phase particles distributed in ${\alpha}-(Mg)$ matrix. After solution treatment, the ${\beta}$ particles with low melting point dissolved into the matrix, but Al-RE phases still remained due to their high thermal stabilities. It was found from the immersion and potentiodynamic polarization tests that corrosion rate of the AZ91-4%RE alloy increased after the solution treatment. On the contrary, EIS tests and EDS compositional analyses on the surface corrosion products indicated that the stability of the corrosion product was improved after the solution treatment. Examinations on the corroded microstructures for the ascast and solution-treated samples revealed that dissolution of the ${\beta}$ particles which play a beneficial role in suppressing corrosion propagation, would be responsible for the deterioration of corrosion resistance after the solution treatment. This result implies that the microstructural features such as amount, size and distribution of secondary phases that determine corrosion mechanism, are more influential on the corrosion rate in comparison with the stability of surface corrosion product.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.62-65
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• 2008

Extrusion characteristics of Mg alloys were studied experimentally. The Al-Zn-Mg alloys, AZ31, AZ6l, AZ80, and AZ91 were extruded with hot hydrostatic extrusion process. The hydrostatic process was efficient to reduce surface friction and extend steady state region in extrusion which made it more convenient to examine deformation behavior of the alloys avoiding the disturbance caused by temporary contact state between billet and die, and billet and container. High pressure was cooperative to expand forming limit of the alloys which were applied on the billet during the extrusion process. Extrusion limits were traced in temperature and extrusion speed domain with changing composition of the alloying elements. Effects of process parameters on extrusion load and microstructure evolution were investigated also.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.23-26
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• 2007

The effect of annealing parameters on the micro-structure of Mg alloy AZ91D was investigated by photo reflectance spectroscopy and electron microscopy. The reflectance spectra show that carbon defects exist in the annealed sample. From the electron microscopy, it is found that the oxide layer on the annealed sample has better uniformity.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.288-296
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• 2019

The passivation of AZ91D Mg alloys through plasma anodization depends on several process parameters, such as power mode and electrolyte composition. In this work, we study the dependence of the thickness, composition, pore formation, surface roughness, and corrosion resistance of formed films on the electrolyte temperature at which anodization is performed. The higher the electrolyte temperature, the lower is the surface roughness, the smaller is the oxide thickness, and the better is the corrosion resistance. More specifically, as the electrolyte temperature increases from 10 to $50^{\circ}C$, the surface roughness (Ra) decreases from 0.7 to $0.15{\mu}m$ and the corrosion resistance increases from 3.5 to 9 in terms of rating number in a salt spray test. The temperature increase from 10 to $50^{\circ}C$ also causes an increase in magnesium content in the film from 25 to 63 wt% and a decrease in oxygen from 66 to 21 wt%, indicating dehydration of the film.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2012.11a
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• pp.18-18
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• 2012

마그네슘 합금의 화성처리는 주로 탈지-산세-디스머트-화성처리의 4단계를 거쳐 진행되는 것으로 알려져 있다. 즉, 마그네슘 합금은 공기 중에서 자연 산화막이 쉽게 생성되며 이때 생성된 산화막을 제거하기 위한 산세 공정이 필수적이다. 본 연구에서는 AZ91D 마그네슘 주조재에 주로 사용되어 왔던 다양한 산 종류에 따른 AZ31B 마그네슘 판재의 산 에칭 후의 표면 상태 및 부식 거동을 관찰하였다. 따라서 AZ31B에 적합한 산 종류를 선별하고 그에 따른 표면 거동에 대한 논의를 통하여 마그네슘 합금의 표면에 대한 이해를 높이고자 한다.