Effects of homogenization treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg–8Li–3Al–Y alloy

• The evolution of microstructure and phases are observed and analyzed.
• The effects of homogenization on mechanical properties are investigated.
• The optimum homogenization parameter for the alloy is suggested.

The effects of homogenization treatment of Mg–8Li–3Al–Y alloy were investigated by optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and universal testing machine. The experiment results indicated that there existed five phases in the as-cast alloy: α, β, Al2Y, AlLi and MgAlLi2. The spheroidized α phase grew gradually and its microstructure and composition became homogeneous when it was treated at 300 °C for 12 h. Meanwhile, the alloy has a good comprehensive mechanical property compared with other homogenization schedules. So, a homogenization treatment at 300 °C for 12 h was determined to be the optimal homogenization treatment for Mg–8Li–3Al–Y alloy.