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THIXOCASTING OF MG-AL ALLOYS USING EXTRUDED

FEEDSTOCK MATERIAL
S. Kleiner1, 2, O. Beffort2, M. Fuchs3, P. J. Uggowitzer1
1
Institute of Metallurgy, ETH Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich,
Switzerland; 2EMPA Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research,
Thun, Switzerland; 3Bühler Druckguss AG, Uzwil, Switzerland

Summary
Extruded magnesium alloys of the AZ-series are suitable feedstock materials for
thixocasting. The characteristics of the feedstock material and its behaviour during
inductive reheating into the semi-solid temperature range have been investigated.
Reheating can be done without any protective gas by using a closed slug container,
which also ensures symmetrical heating conditions. Stepped plates with four different
wall thicknesses were thixocast and the mechanical properties of the castings in as-cast,
solution treated and artificially aged condition are reported. The influence of the
feedstock material, the wall thickness and the heat treatment on microstructure and
properties of the thixocast parts are outlined.

Keywords: thixocasting, magnesium, semi-solid, feedstock material, properties

1 Introduction
For about 15 years magnesium alloys have faced increasing interest, especially from the
automotive industry. Automotive magnesium components are usually thin-walled high
pressure die-cast parts predominantly used in interior applications. The inherent
porosity of high pressure die-castings impairs the mechanical properties and limits a
more widespread use in thick-walled parts.

Thixocasting is known to provide high quality castings, but this innovative casting
process has been restricted to some aluminium alloys so far. The only semi-solid casting
process that is in industrial use for magnesium alloys is thixomolding [1]. By means of
thixomolding it is possible to produce near net shape parts featuring a high surface
quality, but as only very low solid fractions are normally used in this process, it is
limited to rather thin-walled parts.

Different production methods have been proposed to provide suitable magnesium

feedstock material for thixocasting [2]. A relatively new approach is the use of extruded
magnesium alloys, which exhibit a fine equiaxed non-dendritic microstructure. It is
expected that thick-walled, near net shape parts with low porosity and enhanced
mechanical properties become feasible in magnesium alloys by thixocasting using
extruded feedstock material.

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2 Feedstock materials
An alloy has to fulfil several criterions to be suitable for thixocasting. The main
requirements for processability in the semi-solid range are a fine globular grain structure
devoid of dendrites and an adequate volume fraction of liquid [3].

From this point of view the extruded feedstock materials AZ61 and AZ80 turned out to
be suitable precursor materials for thixocasting. Dynamical recrystallisation during the
extrusion process destroys the coarse, dendritic microstructure of the direct chill (DC)
or static cast billet and leads to a fine, equiaxed grain structure. This microstructure
develops into a suitable semi-solid slurry consisting of nearly globular solid particles
surrounded by liquid phase when heated in the semi-solid range (Figure 1).

200 µm

Figure 1: Microstructure of AZ61; left: as extruded (not fully recrystallised), middle:

reheated to 580°C, no holding time, quenched, right: reheated to 580°C,
holding time 2 min, quenched

Liquid fractions of about 35-60% are needed to allow semi-solid processing and these
liquid fractions correspond to a temperature interval of about 20°C (565-585°C) for
AZ80 and 15°C (585-600°C) for AZ61, respectively.

A higher aluminium content in the Mg-alloy is beneficial for semi-solid processing – as

it lowers the sensitivity of the volume fraction of liquid to temperature variations – but
it is impedimental for the extrusion process, because a higher Al-content requires a
lower extrusion speed to get sound material. An Al-content of 5-7% is considered to be
a reasonable compromise between these two contradictory demands.

An important quality criterion for the feedstock material is its homogeneity. The
segregations within a DC cast billet or static cast billet are only elongated but not
dissolved during the extrusion process, i.e. the alloying elements are not evenly
distributed, which gives rise to inhomogeneous remelting. Mainly depending on the
fineness of the primary cast microstructure and the extrusion ratio, the effect occurs
more or less pronounced. The extrusion billets made from DC cast material showed less

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inhomogeneity than the ones made from static cast material. The chemical homogeneity
of the feedstock material may be enhanced by a long-time solution treatment
(homogenisation treatment) at a temperature slightly below the eutectic temperature of
437°C. As diffusion of Al in Mg is very slow at this temperature level, it would take an
estimated 400-500 hours to get a completely homogeneous billet. Apart from the fact
that such a treatment is very uneconomical, it may also cause excessive grain growth,
which is unfavourable for thixocasting. A shorter homogenisation treatment of 40 hours
at 410°C reduces the difference in Al-content in the billet and leads to a more
homogenous remelting behaviour, but coarser Mg17Al12 precipitates do not dissolve, i.e.
homogenisation is incomplete.

3 Inductive Reheating
The aim of the reheating process is to get a semi-solid slug with a defined amount of
liquid phase and a homogenous solid-liquid distribution all over the billets cross-
section. Inductive heating has been established as the preferred reheating method for
semi-solid processing [4, 5]. A homogeneous temperature field in the billet at the end of
the heating cycle can be reached provided that a proper heating curve is applied, a
symmetrical layout is chosen and any contact of the semi-solid slug with air is avoided.
A two- or three-stage heating cycle is recommended to limit the temperature gradient
between core and periphery to less than 5°C. Such a low temperature gradient is only
possible to achieve if the billet is heated in a closed, tight fitting stainless steel
container, which ensures symmetrical heating conditions and avoids sparkling or
burning of the billet. The use of a protective gas like SF6 or SO2 becomes redundant if
such a slug container is utilised. Heating in an opened container commonly used for the
reheating of aluminium alloys caused an uneven temperature distribution in the slug and
severe oxidation of the semi-solid slug even under argon gas flow.

4 Casting
Semi-solid casting is more demanding than conventional casting. The higher viscosity
and the lower heat content of the semi-solid slurry compared to a superheated melt and
the tendency to liquid-solid segregation cause difficulties in die filling, especially in
geometrically complex parts. In order to avoid premature solidification during die
filling, a sufficient high filling speed and a high die temperature have to be applied. A
high metal pressure helps to reduce shrinkage porosity in the thick-walled section of the
thixocast part.

Even under optimised conditions, it is not possible to cast such complex and thin-walled
parts by thixocasting as it can be done by HPDC, but thixocasting has its advantages
when it comes to thick-walled parts where HPDC fails in terms of porosity.

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5 Mechanical Properties
Stepped plates consisting of 4 sections with wall thickness of 2 mm, 6 mm, 10 mm and
14 mm were thixocast on a Bühler Vision SC/N 84 die-casting machine. Mechanical
properties were determined on tensile test specimen machined from these castings.
Table 1 summarizes the mechanical properties of the alloys AZ61 and AZ80.

Table 1: Mechanical properties of thixocast parts of AZ61 and AZ80

Condition Wall AZ61 AZ80

thickness
TYS [MPa] UTS [MPa] A [%] TYS [MPa] UTS [MPa] A [%]
as-cast, F 6-14 mm 95 190 5 105 165 2.5
2 mm 120 190 3 130 170 1.5
solution treated, T4 6-14 mm 85 220 9 95 200 6
2 mm 100 180 3.5 110 180 2.5
artificially aged, T6 6-14 mm 90 200 7 140 210 2.5
2 mm 100 160 3 140 200 2

The tensile yield strength (TYS) is generally low if the wall-thickness equals 6 mm or
more and there is only a slight difference between the two alloys. The thin-walled
sections show a slightly enhanced TYS. In the following paragraphs, the influence of
the alloy composition, the wall thickness, the feedstock material and the heat treatment
on the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation are outlined:

Alloy composition: The elongation depends largely on the amount and distribution of
brittle β-phase (Mg17Al12). The lower alloyed AZ61contains less β and therefore shows
much better elongation values than the higher alloyed AZ80. Due to the higher
elongation, AZ61 also shows higher UTS than AZ80 although AZ80 sustains more
stress than AZ61 at equal strain.

Wall thickness: Mechanical properties do not vary significantly in the wall-thickness

range from 6 mm to 14 mm. The thinnest section (2 mm) shows the lowest elongation
but the UTS are similar to the thicker sections. This behaviour may be explained by the
chemical composition and the microstructure of the thinnest section. Due to the fast
cooling, fine grains have developed in the formerly liquid phase and this gives rise to
higher yield strength and more strain hardening. As the thinnest section was slightly
enriched in liquid phase, it contains more β-phase and some microporosity occurs
because the fast solidification inhibits proper feeding. Both the β-phase and the porosity
lower the elongation to fracture.

Feedstock material: Although no systematic variations in extrusion ratio, extrusion

speed or extrusion temperature were done on producing the feedstock material, the
investigation of material of different batches has shown that the quality of the feedstock
has a major influence on the quality of the thixocast part. Apart from the homogeneity
already mentioned in section 2, the grain structure is the second important parameter.
There has not been found any direct correlation between grain size in the as-extruded

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state and the size of the α-globules in the semi-solid state, but the mean globule size in
the thixocast parts differed by about factor 2 for different batches of feedstock. The
semi-solid slurries containing small globules showed much better die filling behaviour
and less solid-liquid segregation than coarse-grained slurries.

Heat treatment: The brittle β-phase can be dissolved if a solution heat treatment is
applied to the thixocast part. Compared to the as-cast condition, solution treated
specimens show a slightly reduced yield strength but a markedly enhanced ductility, the
average elongation was nearly doubled. While AZ61 did not respond to an artificial
aging treatment, the strength of AZ80 got slightly enhanced by such a heat treatment
and the elongation remained similar to the as-cast condition.

6 Discussion
Tensile fracture of Mg-Al castings initiates by the cracking of the brittle Mg17Al12-
particles [6]. Hence, the volume fraction and spatial distribution of this β-phase
determines ductility, provided that there are no severe defects such as porosity or oxide
films. The lower alloyed AZ61 inherently contains less β and therefore shows higher
average elongation values than AZ80, where the β-phase tends to form an inter-
connected network. Solid-liquid segregation that may occur in the thixocasting process
leads to the formation of areas containing coarse β-phase. This lowers the elongation
and ultimate tensile strength and also accounts for high data scattering. Furthermore,
coarse β needs an uneconomical long solution treatment time to get completely
dissolved. After the usual 400°C/24h treatment, β is still found in most of the castings.

The rather low tensile yield strengths of 80-110 MPa in the thick-walled sections are
comparable to the values stated in literature for sand castings of AZ-alloys containing 6-
8% of aluminium [7]. The microstructure of thixocast and sand cast parts is quite
similar. Both microstructures consist of α-magnesium grains of about 100 µm diameter
and quite coarse β-phase concentrated at the grain boundaries. If we consider that the
yield strength depends highly upon the grain size of Mg-alloys - the Hall-Petch
coefficient of magnesium is four times larger than that of pure aluminium - it becomes
obvious that thixocast and sand cast parts will never reach the same yield strength level
as thin-walled HPDC parts with their very fine microstructure. Thixocast and solution
treated AZ61 shows properties, which may be compared to AZ61 extrusions in the
transverse direction, i.e. the weak direction in extruded profiles. The high strength and
elongation values in the longitudinal direction of extruded profiles cannot be reached by
any castings of the same alloy system.

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7 Conclusions
The investigations have proved that Mg-thixocasting is feasible by using extruded AZ-
alloys, but the limits of the thixocasting process for magnesium alloys have also been
revealed. Thixocasting may be reasonable for thick-walled parts with rather simple
geometries, where it can provide sound castings with low porosity and good ductility.
Such parts cannot be produced by HPDC and are supposed to be weldable, pressure
tight and heat treatable. Due to quite coarse grains in the thixocast parts, only medium
yield strength values are achieved.

Acknowledgements

This work was done within the framework of CTI-Project No. 4527.3. The financial
support of the commission for technology and innovation (CTI) is gratefully
acknowledged. Special thanks go to Timminco for supplying the material and Injecta
Druckguss AG for the die.

References
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Alloys and Composites, Turin, Italy (2000), 109-114.
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Alloys: New process technologies, Marina di Ravenna, Italy (1993), 13-30.
[3] Tzimas, E., Zavaliangos, A.: Materials selection for semisolid processing, Materials
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[4] Collot, J.: Rheoformage et thixoformage des alliages de magnesium et
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[5] Gräf, T., Jürgens, R., Gies, J.: Controlled inductive heating for thixotropic materials
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