Influence of casting module on corrosion behavior of Mg-11Gd-3Y alloy

The influences of two kinds of casting modules of metal casting (MC) and expandable pattern casting (EPC) on the corrosion behavior of Mg-11Gd-3Y alloy were studied by electrochemical measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation, X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. It is found that the quantity of the Mg24 (Gd, Y)5 phase in MC is more than that in EPC due to the cooling rate. There is more alloying element dissolved in the matrix compared with MC. For EPC, the galvanic corrosion effect between the matrix and the Mg24 (Gd, Y)5 phase decreases and the corrosion resistance increases compared with the MC. The chief corrosion mode for Mg-11Gd-3Y alloy is pitting corrosion because most of the alloying elements are transformed into intermetallic phases. The average corrosion rate of the MC alloy in the immersion test is five times higher than that of EPC alloy and yttrium is present in the product film, which will provide increased protection for Mg-11Gd-3Y alloy. The electrochemical measurements and immersion test show that the EPC process increases the corrosion resistance compared with the MC Mg-11Gd-3Y alloy.