Superplastic Forming and Reaction Diffusion Bonding Process of Hollow Structural Component for Mg-Gd-Y-Zn-Zr Rare Earth Magnesium Alloy

This work fabricated a double hollow structural component of Mg-8.3Gd-2.9Y-0.8Zn-0.2Zr alloy by superplastic forming (SPF) and reaction-diffusion bonding (RDB). The superplastic characteristic and mechanical properties of Mg-8.3Gd-2.9Y-0.8Zn-0.2Zr alloy sheets at 250–450 °C were studied. Tensile tests showed that the maximum elongation of tensile specimens was about 1276.3% at 400 °C under a strain rate of 1 × 10−3 s−1. Besides, the effect of bonding temperature and interface roughness on microstructure and mechanical properties of the reaction diffusion-bonded joints with a Cu interlayer was investigated. With the increase of temperature, the diffusion coefficient of Cu increases, and the diffusion transition region becomes wider, leading to tightening bonding of the joint. However, the bonding quality of the joint will deteriorate due to grain size growth at higher temperatures. Shear tests showed that the highest strength of the joints was 152 MPa (joint efficiency = 98.7%), which was performed at 460 °C.