Magnesium-based alloys
Our CALPHAD based software and databases allow very accurate calculations of phase equilibria in multicomponent Mg-based alloy systems and provide an efficient way to design and optimise materials chemistry and processing for obtaining desired microstructure and properties.
By using Thermo-Calc and compatible thermodynamic databases, a vast amount of information can be obtained of relevance for multicomponent Mg-based alloys.
Examples of equilibrium properties that can be predicted include:
- Phase amount and constitution as a function of composition
- Phase amount and constitution as a function of temperature
- Liquidus, solidus and other phase transformation temperatures
- Solubility of alloy elements in Mg
- Partitioning of alloying elements among different phases
- Enthalpy, heat capacity, driving force for phase nucleation and growth
During casting, welding and joining of Mg alloys, the solidification of the alloys happens almost entirely in a non-equilibrium way. The non-equilibrium solidification path can be predicted rather accurately by using the Scheil-Gulliver module available in Thermo-Calc.
From a multicomponent Scheil-Gulliver calculation, one can obtain:
- Solidification temperature range
- Incipient melting point
- Phase amount and its composition
- Phase formation sequence
- Micro-segregation of solute elements
- Latent heat evolution