Effect of Alloying Elements on the Iron Solubility in Molten Magnesium Alloys
변지영 , 문재현 , 심재동 , 백영현 Ji Young Byun , Jae Hyun Moon , Jae Dong Shim , Young Hyun Paik
Abstract
Effect of aluminum, manganese, and zinc on the iron solubility in molten magnesium alloys has been studied in the temperature range of 650℃ and 745℃ using a sedimentation method. The iron solubility in molten magnesium decreased very rapidly with increasing aluminum or manganese content by 4.0% or 1.0% in weight, respectively, while addition of zinc up to 1.0% in weight did not give any effect on the iron solubility in magnesium. The rapid decrease in the iron solubility with addition of aluminum was due to the corresponding rapid decrease of the iron activity in iron-bearing precipitates in equilibrium with Mg-Al melts. This strong interaction of aluminum with iron was qualitatively analyzed in this paper based on thermodynamics. Using X-ray diffraction method, the phases of iron-bearing precipitates in equilibrium with Mg-Al or Mg-Mn melts were also determined as a function of the temperature and the composition of Al or Mn.