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Effects of runner design and pressurization on the microstructure of a high-pressure die cast Mg-3.0Nd-0.3Zn-0.6Zr alloy

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Abstract

To clarify the relationship between externally solidified crystals (ESCs) and other defects, e.g., defect bands and pores, two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) characterization methods were adopted to analyze castings produced using a modified ingate system equipped with and without an ESC collector. The reduction of ESCs strongly reduced defect band width and shrinkage pore quantity. By reducing the quantity and size of ESCs, net-shrinkage pores were transformed into isolated island-shrinkage pores. We determined via statistical analysis that the mechanical properties of high pressure die castings were strongly related to the size and fraction of the ESCs rather than porosity volume. The reduction of ESCs also caused tensile transgranular fracture modes to transform into intergranular fracture modes. Additionally, casting pressurization strongly reduced pore morphology, volume, and size.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52175284) and the State Key Lab of Advanced Metals and Materials in University of Science and Technology Beijing (No. 2021-ZD08).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Mechanical and Electronic Control Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, China

    Tongtong Zhang, Wenbo Yu & Chaosheng Ma

  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Yuqi Zhou & Shoumei Xiong

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  1. Tongtong Zhang
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  2. Wenbo Yu
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  3. Chaosheng Ma
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  4. Yuqi Zhou
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  5. Shoumei Xiong
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Correspondence to Wenbo Yu or Shoumei Xiong.

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Zhang, T., Yu, W., Ma, C. et al. Effects of runner design and pressurization on the microstructure of a high-pressure die cast Mg-3.0Nd-0.3Zn-0.6Zr alloy. Int J Miner Metall Mater 29, 1310–1316 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-021-2386-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-021-2386-z

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