Effect of Si, Sr Additions on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of AZ91 Alloy

In present work, Si and Sr elements were added into AZ91 alloy and cast directly into test samples using permanent mold. Mechanical properties of the samples at room temperature were evaluated by tensile test and the microstructure was analyzed. The results show that β-phase (Mg17Al12) of AZ91 alloy decreases with the addition of Si element and Mg2Si phase forms at the same time. Irregular Mg2Si phase precipitates preferentially at the grain boundaries at a low silicon content level. With the increase of the Si content, Mg2Si phase shows a complicated “Chinese- script” shape distributed at the grain boundary which leads to a lower ultimate tensile strength. Subsequently, the addition of Sr element has a remarkable effect on the form and distribution of Mg2Si phase of AZ91-Si alloys.