Microstructural stability of heat-resistant high-pressure die-cast Mg-4Al-4Ce alloy

Abstract The thermal stability of Al- RE (rare earth) intermetallic phases with individual RE for heat-resistant high-pressure die-casting Mg–Al– RE alloys is investigated. The results of this study show that the main strengthening phase of Mg-4Al-4Ce alloy is Al 11 Ce 3 , whose content is about 5 wt.% according to quantitative X-ray diffraction phase analysis. The Al 11 Ce 3 phase appears to have high thermal stability at 200 °C and 300 °C, while phase morphology change with no phase structure transition could occur for Al 11 Ce 3 when the temperature reaches 400 °C. Furthermore, besides the kinds of rare earths and temperature, stress is also an influencing factor in the microstructural stability of Mg-4Al-4Ce alloy.