Forging of cast Mg-3Sn-2Ca-0.4Al-0.4Si magnesium alloy using processing map

Mg-3Sn-2Ca (TX32) alloy has good creep resistance but limited workability. Minor amounts of Al and Si have been added to TX32 for improving its hot workability. The processing map for the TX32-0.4Al-0.4Si alloy exhibited two workability domains in the temperature and strain rate ranges: (1) 310-415°C/0.0003-0.003 s^-1 and (2) 430-500°C/0.003-3 s^-1. The alloy exhibited flow instability at temperatures < 350°C at strain rates > 0.01 s-1. The alloy has been forged to produce a cup shape component to validate these findings of processing map. Finite-element (FE) simulation has been performed for obtaining the local variations of strain and strain rate within the forging. The microstructures of the forged components under the optimal domain conditions revealed dynamically recrystallized grains, and those forged in the flow instability regime have fractured and exhibited flow localization bands and cracks. The experimental loadstroke curves correlated well with those obtained by FE simulation.