Strength and deformation behaviour of magnesium die casting alloys

Modern magnesium die casting alloys are used for the manufacturing of autom otive parts due to their low density, fortunate mechanical and physical pro perties as well as good castability and machinability. However, in comparis on to other materials the automotive application of these alloys is still l ow. The reasons for this are among other things the shortage of relevant ma terials values, insufficient knowledge concerning the correlation between t he microstructure and the mechanical properties as well as deficits in rela tion to the die cast technology. This paper investigates the influence of t he microstructure and manufacture-induced defects like micro-shrinkage and gas pores on the strength and deformability of the alloys AZ91, AM50 and AE 42 under tensile and bend loading. To characterise the microstructure in th e dependence on the wall thickness, the investigations are mainly carried o ut using in situ specimens obtained from die castings.