Density and Thermal Expansion of Magnesium-Calcium Alloys in Solid and Liquid States

Experimental studies of the volumetric properties of the Mg2Ca intermetallic compound and eutectic magnesium-calcium alloys (with compositions of 10.5 and 73 at.% calcium) in the temperature range of 100 K to 1230 K of the solid and liquid states were carried out using the gamma-ray attenuation technique and the dilatometric method. Measurements of the density and volumetric thermal expansion coefficient of Mg-Ca melts, as well as the density change during melting-crystallization, were performed for the first time. The concentration dependences of the volumetric properties of the Mg-Ca system and approaches for calculating density and thermal expansion coefficients of promising magnesium-calcium alloys are proposed.