Electric Field-assisted Precipitation to Control Mechanical Behavior in Magnesium Alloys

Description

Precipitation of fine intermetallic can strengthen magnesium alloys but has yet to be developed To its full potential (1).  It is partially because conventional thermal aging often leads to precipitate particles that too coarse in size, too sparse in spacing and too anisotropic in morphology.  In this project, we propose to explore, understand, and finally harness electric-field-assisted precipitation to control the mechanical behavior of magnesium alloys.  The complex role of electric field (2), particularly the non-thermal electromigration part, on nucleation and growth to manipulate precipitate size, spacing and shape will be explored in detail, assisted by both experimental and computational tools.  We will apply the gained fundamental knowledge to create new strategies for developing high-performance magnesium alloys by optimizing current-containing processing routes.