Effects of magnetic field on the microstructure and mechanical property of Mg-Al-Gd alloys

The present work investigates the change in the microstructure and the improvement in the mechanical property of ternary Mg-Al-Gd alloys induced by a static magnetic field of 1 T, applied during homogenization at 525 degrees C. The application of the magnetic field increases the concentration of Gd in alpha-Mg from 7.16 to 9.00 wt% in the alloys homogenized under the same heat treatment condition without magnetic field to 10.65-11.41 wt%. A higher solid concentration of Gd gives a higher solution strengthening. The width of the 15R-type long-period stacking ordered (LPSO) laths in the homogenized alloys is significantly reduced to 46.9 nm from 236.2 nm by the magnetic field. The ultimate compression strength is enhanced by the magnetic field from 447 MPa to 473 MPa.