Creep properties and microstructure of a Mg-6Al-1Nd-1.5Gd alloy at temperatures above 150 °C

Compressive creep behavior of a Mg-Al alloy containing a small amount of Nd and Gd (Mg-6Al-1Nd-1.5Gd) was investigated at temperatures from 150 °C to 200 °C under a constant applied stress of 90 MPa, and its microstructure before and after creep testing was compared. Results showed that steady-state creep rate of the alloy was only 1.946 × 10 −8 /s at 150 °C, and was increased by four times and almost one order of magnitude at 175 °C and 200 °C, respectively. The microstructure of the alloy mainly consists of α -Mg, β -Mg 17 Al 12 phases, and Al 2 RE phases, which were distributed both in dendrites of α -Mg and at grain boundaries originally. After creep for 120 h, more Al 2 RE phases were aggregated at grain boundaries. The continuous β -Mg 17 Al 12 phase turned into dispersed dot-like or blocky particles. As the test temperature increased, the number of dislocation lines gradually increased due to the increase of creep strain. Meanwhile, dislocation tangle and dislocation pile-ups occurred near grain boundaries. However, obvious slip traces and slip lines appeared inside α -Mg dendrites at 175 °C and 200 °C, respectively, indicating that 〈c + a〉 non-basal slip system was activated, creep resistance decreased dramatically.