Effect of Rapid Solidification on the Structure and Phase Composition of Mg–Al–Zn, Mg–Nd–Zr, and Mg–Li–Al Alloys

Metallographic and X-ray diffraction analyses are used to study the effect of rapid solidification (RS) by pendant melt drop extraction (PMDE) on the structure and phase composition of magnesium alloys ML-5, ML-10, and Mg–5Li–3Al. To perform a quantitative phase analysis of the Mg–Al system alloys, an X-ray diffraction procedure based on measuring the lattice parameter of the α solid solution is proposed. RS of alloy ML-5 is shown to increase the aluminum content in the solid solution from 5.5 to 8.3% and to the decreases in the content of the Mg17Al12 intermetallic phase from 14.8 to 7.2%. Lithium is shown to substantially decrease the c/a ratio: from 1.624 for pure magnesium to 1.607–1.609 for the Mg–5Li–3Al alloy.