Effects of cooling rate on bio-corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of Mg-1Zn-0.5Ca casting alloy

Mg-1Zn-0.5Ca alloys were prepared by traditional steel mould casting and water-cooled copper mould injection casting at higher cooling rate. Microstructure, mechanical properties and bio-corrosion resistance of two alloys were contrastively investigated. Grain size reduces remarkably and microstructure becomes homogenous when raising cooling rate. The bio-corrosion behaviour in 3.5% sodium chloride solution (3.5% NaCl) and Hank's solution at 37°C was investigated using electrochemical polarization measurement and the results indicate that the alloy prepared at higher cooling rates has better corrosion resistance in both types of solution. Further mass loss immersion test in Hank's solution reveals the same result. The reason of corrosion resistance improvement is that raising cooling rate brings about homogeneous microstructure, which leads to micro-galvanic corrosion alleviation. The tensile test results show that yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and elongation are improved by raising cooling rate and the improvement is mainly due to grain refinement.