Precipitation of prismatic plates in Mg–0.3Ca alloys with In additions

In Mg alloys, prismatic plates are predicted to be more effective for age hardening compared with the basal plates that are commonly observed in Mg–rare earth (RE) or Mg–Ca alloys with Zn. This study reports that a high number density of thin prismatic plates can be precipitated in Mg–0.3Ca alloy by microalloying with In, resulting in an enhanced age-hardening response three times higher than that for the binary alloy. The precipitates are composed of three {1 0 1¯ 0} prismatic planes enriched with Ca and In.