Investigations of the Effect of Heat Treatment and Plastic Deformation Parameters on the Formability and Microstructure of AZ91 Alloy Castings

Abstract

The article discusses the influence of heat treatment and metal forming parameters on formability and the structure of the AZ91 cast magnesium alloy. The aim of the article is to determine the optimal parameters of homogenization and plastic deformation of sand castings made of the AZ91 alloy in order to improve their properties and structure. In this study, sand castings made from the AZ91 alloy were examined. In the first stage, the castings were homog - enized at: 385 °C, 400 °C, 415 °C and 430 °C with argon as a shielding gas for 24 hours and then quenched. Sub-sequently the upsetting tests were conducted at 380 ° C; 400 ° C; 420 ° C; 440 ° C for two deformation values: ε = 0.7 and ε = 1.1. After upsetting, the samples were water-and air-cooled. At this stage, a visual assessment was made and samples without cracks were subjected supersaturation at 415 ° C for 6 h, and artificial aging at 175 ° C for 24 h. Vickers hardness tests and microstructure assessment were carried out, at individual stages of testing. Based on the results obtained from the upsetting, structure and hardness tests, the most favorable homogenisation and plastic deformation conditions were determined for AZ91 alloy sand castings. The best results are achieved by homogenizing sand castings at 415 °C for 24 h. Among the tested parameters for conducting metal forming processing in the range of 380–440 °C and deformation values: ε = 0.7 and ε = 1.1, forging of sand-cast AZ91 magnesium alloy at 420 °C and deformation of ε = 0.7 with water cooling seems to be the most favourable. The final heat treatment applied after the deformation process consists of supersaturation at 415 °C for 6 hours water quenching as artificial aging at 175 °C for 24. This combination of heat and plastic treatment parameters of castings allows for improvement of the structure and properties of sand castings made of the AZ91 alloy.