Friction stir processing of thixoformed AZ91D magnesium alloy and fabrication of Al-rich surface

The microstructural evolution characteristics of thermo-mechanically affected zone were investigated during friction stir processing (FSP) of the thixoformed AZ91D alloy. Simultaneously, an Al-rich surface layer was prepared by combination of Al powder using FSP method. The results indicate that the dynamic recrystallization and mechanical separation (including splitting and fracture of the primary grains) are the main mechanisms of grain refinement. For the thixoformed alloy, the operation efficiency of these mechanisms is less than that of the permanent mould casting AZ91D alloy, thus its microstructural evolution is relatively slow and the resulting grain size is relatively large. These are attributed to the differences in their original microstructures. The Al-rich surface layer can obviously improve the corrosion resistance in NaCl aqueous solution. A proper solution heat treatment (at 415 °C for 1 h) can further increase the corrosion resistance. In order to improve corrosion resistance, increasing the amount and improving the distribution uniformity of the Al-rich phase are more effective than increasing the Al solubility in the matrix.