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.