The impact of homogenization treatment on microstructure microhardness and corrosion behavior of wrought AZ80 magnesium alloys in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of homogenization treatment on microstructure, micro-hardness and corrosion behavior of AZ80 wrought Magnesium alloy. Homogenization at 523 K, 623 K, and 723 K were accomplished. Meanwhile samples were cooled in the furnace after 6 h and 12 h of diffusion annealing treatment. In this study, samples were characterized by using optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Micro-hardness of the homogenized specimens were measured and electrochemical corrosion behavior of homogenized AZ80 alloy has been investigated. Attempt has been made to enhance both the hardness and corrosion resistance of the AZ80 Mg alloy by changing its microstructure during homogenization treatment. This investigation revealed that the hardness of Mg alloy is improved at 523 K-12 h holding time. It was also found that corrosion rates are minimum at higher homogenization temperature and lower holding time because of uniform distribution of secondary ?-phases in Mg matrix, evidently shown in the microstructure of the heat treated Mg alloy. As a result, the homogenization treatment at 723 K for 6 h is desirable to enhance the corrosion resistance. 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd.