Enhanced compressive strength of an extruded nanostructured Mg-10Al alloy

We report the microstructural characterization and compressive behavior of nanostructured Mg-10Al alloys processed via cryomilling, spark plasma sintering and extrusion. We demonstrate that warm extrusion leads to ~40% improvement in compressive strength of nanostructured Mg-10Al alloys. A yield strength of 550 MPa, and an ultimate strength of 580 MPa are measured. The improvement in strength is mainly attributed to the occurrence of precipitation hardening by γ-Al12Mg17 nanoprecipitates and basal-texture strengthening in addition to the grain size strengthening mechanism. Our results suggest a successful approach for the design of high strength nanostructured Mg-Al alloys.