Growth of primary alpha phase in the semi-solid state Mg-Zn-Ca-Zr alloy

The coarsening of the primary alpha phase in a Mg-6.0%Zn-2.0%Ca-1.5Zr alloy in the semi-solid state temperature range was investigated to establish th e necessary processing conditions for the semi solid state forming processe s. The growth of the primary alpha phase was found to be influenced by the sample heating and holding duration. In addition, the growth rate was obser ved to be rather high for a lower holding temperature. These phenomena were discussed based on the experimentally measured distance between the grains in the semi-solid state.