Effect of ZnO nanoparticles to mechanical properties of thixoformed Mg-Al-Zn alloy

Magnesium alloys are lightweight metallic materials with low mechanical properties. Therefore, in order to meet the requirements in various industrial sector applications such as automotive, aerospace and electronic frame, improvement strength and ductility is required. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of adding ZnO nanoparticles to changes in microstructure, hardness, mechanical properties regarding with yield and ultimate strength. In this research, the molten Mg-Al-Zn alloy is added ZnO nanoparticles with a various range of 0, 1; 3 and 5 wt% and then cooling in the room temperature. Futhermore, Mg-Al-Zn-ZnO is heated at a temperature of 530 °C (in the semi-solid temperature range 470 °C–595 °C or 53% solid fraction) and then thixoforming process is performed. The characterization results of the thixoforming product show that, the microstructure is globular in shape with maximum hardness value of 107.14 VHN, the yield strength of 214.87 MPa, and the ultimate tensile strength of 311.25 MPa in 5 wt% ZnO nanoparticles.