An Assessment of Novel Biodegradable Magnesium Alloys for Endovascular Biomaterial Applications

Magnesium alloys have been widely explored as potential biomaterials, but several limitations to using these materials have prevented their widespread use, such as uncontrollable degradation kinetics which alter their mechanical properties. In an attempt to further the applicability of magnesium and its alloys for biomedical purposes, two novel magnesium alloys Mg-Zn-Cu and Mg-Zn-Se were developed with the expectation of improving upon the unfavorable qualities shown by similar magnesium based materials that have previously been explored. The overall performance of these novel magnesium alloys has been assessesed in three distinct phases of research: 1) analysing the mechanical properties of the as-cast magnesium alloys, 2) evaluating the biocompatibility of the as-cast magnesium alloys through the use of in-vitro cellular studies, and 3) profiling the degradation kinetics of the as-cast magnesium alloys through the use of electrochemical potentiodynamic polarization techqnique as well as gravimetric weight-loss methods. As compared to currently available shape memory alloys and degradable as-cast alloys, these experimental alloys possess superior as-cast mechanical properties with elongation at failure values of 12% and 13% for the Mg-Zn-Se and Mg-Zn-Se alloys, respectively. This is substantially higher than other as-cast magnesium alloys that have elongation at failure values that range from 7-10%. Biocompatibility tests revealed that both the Mg-Zn-Se and Mg-Zn-Cu alloys exhibit low cytotoxicity levels which are suitable for biomaterial applications. Gravimetric and electrochemical testing was indicative of the weight loss and initial corrosion behavior of the alloys once immersed within a simulated body fluid. The development of these novel as-cast magnesium alloys provide an advancement to the field of degradable metallic materials, while experimental results indicate their potential as cost-effective medical devices.

Zinc Plating Magnesium

Magnesium and magnesium alloys are becoming more and more important in modern industry. Their use in the aviation industry has been greatly curtailed because of their comparatively poor resistance to corrosion especially in moist atmospheres. Many methods have been adopted to improve their resistance to corrosion.

The Effect of Manganese and Magnesium on the Hardening of Copper-Aluminum Alloys

During recent years, duralumin and all aluminum alloys have been made the object of much discussion regarding their hardening mechanism. The commercial success of nearly all of the alloys of aluminum and mag­nesium is dependent on their ability to age or precipitation harden.

Void formation and grain boundary sliding in aluminum-magnesium solid solution alloys

"Materials Central, Contract no. AF 33(616)-5926. Project no. 7351."

Compressive behaviour of nanocrystalline Mg-5Al alloys

Magnesium alloys are attracting increasing research interests due to their low density, high specific strength, good machinability and availability as compared to other structural materials. However, the deformation and failure mechanisms of nanocrystalline (nc) Mg alloys have not been well understood. In this work, the deformation behaviour of nc Mg-5Al alloys was investigated using compression test, with focus on the effects of grain size. The average grain size of the Mg- Al alloy was changed from 13 to 50 nm via mechanical milling. The results showed that grain size had a significant influence on the yield stress and ductility of the Mg alloys, and the materials exhibited increased strain rate sensitivity with a decrease in grain size. The deformation mechanisms were also strongly dependent on the grain sizes.

Wear mechanism map of uncoated HSS tools during drilling die-cast magnesium alloy

A wear mechanism map of uncoated high-speed steel (HSS) tools was constructed under the conditions of dry-drilling die-cast magnesium alloys. Three wear mechanisms appear in the map based on the microanalysis of drilled HSS tools by SEM, including adhesive wear, abrasive wear and diffusion wear. In the map, there exists a minor wear region which is called "safety zone". This wear mechanism map will be a good reference for choosing suitable drilling parameters when drilling die-cast magnesium alloys.

Magnesium alloy applications in automotive structures

The energy absorbed by magnesium alloys (high-pressure die-cast (HPDC) AM20, AM50, AM60, and extruded AZ31) in a buckling test was significantly greater than the aluminum alloy 6061 T6 and particularly mild steel of a similar weight, but was less than that of the aluminum alloy and steel for the same thickness (Figure 6).26 This indicates that mass savings can be achieved by the substitution with magnesium alloys to achieve similar energy-absorbing characteristics.

The Challenge of inhomogeneous deformation in magnesium and its alloys

It is shown that wrought magnesium alloys display a number of significant types of deformation inhomogeneities. These are influenced by the variation in the ease of basal slip amongst grains, micro-textures, shear banding, twinning and grain boundary sliding. Key features of each of these effects are examined and their engineering consequences and challenges are identified.

Compositional effects on the restoration behaviour in Mg-Zn-Re alloys

Additions of rare earth elements to magnesium alloys are qualitatively reported in the literature to retard recrystallisation. However, their effect in the presence of other (non-rare earth) alloy additions has not been systematically shown nor has the effect been quantified. The microstructural restoration following the hot deformation of Mg-xZn-yRE (x = 2.5 and 5 wt.%, y = 0 and 1 wt.%, and RE = Gd and Y) alloys has been studied using double hit compression testing and microscopy. It was found that, in the absence of rare earth additions, increases in zinc level had a negligible influence on the kinetics of restoration and the microstructure developed both during extrusion and throughout double hit testing. Adding rare earth elements to Mg-Zn alloys was found to retard restoration of the microstructure and maintain finer recrystallised grains. However, in the Mg-Zn-RE alloys, increasing the zinc concentration from 2.5 wt.% to 5 wt.% accelerated the restoration process, most likely due to a depletion of rare earth elements from solid solution and modification of the particles present in the matrix.

Effect of alloying and extrusion temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-Zn and Mg-Zn-RE alloys

Extruded Mg-Zn-RE alloys have been shown to exhibit excellent combinations of yield strength and ductility, but it is not completely clear how adding rare earth metals to Mg-Zn alters the microstructure and affects the mechanical properties. Microstructural changes and the resulting mechanical properties from changes in composition and extrusion temperature have been investigated for Mg-. x Zn-. y RE (. x=2.5 and 5. wt.%, y=0 and 1. wt. %, and RE=Gd and Y) alloys. Adding RE to Mg-Zn increased the strength and reduced the ductility, while increasing the zinc concentration in the Mg-Zn-RE alloys had the reverse effect.

An Investigation of the Properties of some of the White Metal Alloys

Although there is no standardized list of alloys, most investigators have, to avoid confusion, concurred in at least grouping the metals under several general heads. Precious metals: gold, silver and the platinum group; the light metals: aluminum and magnesium; the non-ferrous metals (excluding all steels and iron-base alloys); and the antifriction metals.

The Age-Hardening of Aluminum with MgZn2

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the age-hardening of aluminum with magnesium and zinc in such proportions as to conform to the compound MgZn2. Because of a lack of time and proper equipment, the only property investigated was the hardness as indicated by the Rockwell Superficial Hardness Tester.

Modelización de procesos de soldadura (GMAW y GTAW) de la aleación de magnesio AZ31B. Estudio y análisis del comportamiento de este tipo de uniones soldadas frente a la corrosión en medios salinos

El magnesio y sus aleaciones representan un interesante campo de investigación dentro de la ingeniería de materiales debido a los retos que plantean tanto su conformabilidad como durabilidad. Las características físicas y mecánicas del magnesio y sus aleaciones los convierten en materiales de gran interés desde el punto de vista industrial al tratarse de uno de los materiales más abundantes y ligeros en un mundo en el que día a día los recursos y materias primas son más escasos por lo que el acceso a materiales abundantes y ligeros que permitan economizar el uso de energía cobrará mayor importancia en el futuro. En la coyuntura actual es por tanto necesario revisar procesos y procedimientos, investigando y tratando de ampliar desde este punto de vista si es posible mejorar los procedimientos de fabricación de los materiales disponibles actualmente o el desarrollo de nuevos, mejores que los anteriores, que permitan ayudar a la sostenibilidad del planeta. El magnesio, pese a ser un material muy abundante y relativamente barato, presenta una serie de inconvenientes que limitan de manera muy seria su aplicación industrial, su alta reactividad en presencia de oxígeno y su mal comportamiento frente a la corrosión así como limitaciones en su conformabilidad han estado limitando su uso y aplicaciones, los investigaciones dentro del campo de la metalurgia física de este material y el desarrollo de nuevas aleaciones han permitido su empleo en múltiples aplicaciones dentro de la industria aeroespacial, militar, automovilística, electrónica, deportiva y médica. La motivación para esta tesis doctoral ha sido tratar de aportar más luz sobre el comportamiento de una de las aleaciones comerciales base magnesio más empleadas, la AZ31B, tratando de modelizar como le afectan los procesos de soldadura y estudiando desde un punto de vista experimental como se ve modificada su microestructura, su comportamiento mecánico y su resistencia frente a la corrosión. Aunque en un principio se pensó en el empleo de métodos electroquímicos para el estudio de la corrosión de estos materiales, rápidamente se decidió prescindir de su uso dada la dificultad observada tanto durante los trabajos de investigación de esta Tesis como los encontrados por otros investigadores. Mediante microdurezas se han caracterizado mecánicamente las soldaduras de aleación de magnesio tipo AZ31 en función de diferentes materiales de aporte, observándose que el empleo de las aleaciones con mayor contenido de aluminio y zinc no contribuye a una mejora significativa de las propiedades mecánicas. Se han podido establecer correlaciones entre los modelos de simulación desarrollados y las microestructuras resultantes de los procesos reales de soldadura que permiten definir a priori que estructuras se van a obtener. De igual forma ha sido posible completar un estudio micrográfico y químico completo de las diferentes fases y microconstituyentes originados durante los procesos de soldadura, gracias a estos resultados se ha propuesto como hipótesis una explicación que justifica el comportamiento frente a la corrosión de estas aleaciones una vez soldadas. Los ensayos de corrosión realizados han permitido determinar correlaciones matemáticas que indican las velocidades de corrosión esperables de este tipo de aleaciones. Desde el punto de vista del diseño, los resultados obtenidos en este trabajo permitirán a otros investigadores y diseñadores tomar decisiones a la hora de decidir qué materiales de aporte emplear junto con las implicaciones que conllevan desde el punto de vista metalúrgico, mecánico o corrosivo las diferentes alternativas. Por último indicar que gracias al trabajo desarrollado se han definido modelos matemáticos para predecir el comportamiento frente a la corrosión de estas aleaciones, se han determinado las posibles causas y mecanismos por las que se gobierna la corrosión en la soldadura de chapas de aleación AZ31B y los motivos por los que se debe considerar el empleo de un material de aporte u otro. Los modelos de simulación desarrollados también han ayudado a comprender mejor la microestructura resultante de los procesos de soldadura y se han determinado que fases y microconstituyentes están presentes en las soldaduras de estas aleaciones. ABSTRACT Magnesium and its alloys represent and interesting research field in the material science due to the challenges of their fabrication and durability. The physical and mechanical properties of magnesium and its alloys make them a very interesting materials from and industrial point of view being one of the most abundant and lightest materials in a world in which day by day the lacking of resources and raw materials is more important, the use of light materials which allow to save energy will become more important in a near future. So that it is necessary to review processes and procedures, investigating and trying to improve current fabrication procedures and developing new ones, better than the former ones, in order to help with the sustainability of the planet. Although magnesium is a very common and relatively cheap material, it shows some inconveniences which limit in a major way their industrial application; its high reactivity in presence of oxygen, its poor corrosion resistance and some manufacturing problems had been limiting their use and applications, metallurgical investigations about this material and the development of new alloys have allowed its use in multiple applications in the aerospacial, military, automobile, electronics, sports and medical industry. The motivation for this thesis has been trying to clarify the behavior of one most used commercial base magnesium alloys, the AZ31, trying to modeling how its affected by thermal cycles of the welding process and studying from an experimental point of view how its microstructure is modified and how these modifications affect its mechanical behavior and corrosion resistance. Although at the beginning of this works it was though about the using of electrochemical techniques to evaluate the corrosion of these materials, rapidly it was decided not to use them because of the difficulty observed by during this research and by other investigators. The results obtained in this thesis have allowed to characterize mechanically AZ31 magnesium welding alloys considering different filler metals, according to this study using filler metals with a high content of aluminum and zinc does not represent an important improve It has been possible to establish correlations between simulation models and the resultant microstructures of the real melting processes originated during welding processes which allow to predict the structures which will be obtained after the welding. In addition to that it is possible to complete a complete micrographic and chemical analysis of the different phases and microconstituents created during welding, due to these results and hypothesis to explain the corrosion behavior of these welded alloys. Corrosion tests carried out have allowed defining mathematical correlations to predict corrosion rates of this kind of alloys. From a designing point of view, the results obtained in this work will let other investigators and designers to make decisions taking into account which implications have the different options from a metallurgical, mechanic and corrosive point of view. Finally we would like to indicate that thanks to this work it has been possible to define mathematical models to predict the corrosion behavior, the causes and the mechanism of this corrosion in the AZ31 welding sheets have been also determined and the reasons for using of one filler metal or another, the developed simulation models have also help to get a better understanding of the result microstructure determining the phases and the microconstituents present in the welding of this alloys.

Understanding magnesium corrosion - A framework for improved alloy performance

The purpose of this paper is to provide a succinct but nevertheless complete mechanistic overview of the various types of magnesium corrosion. The understanding of the corrosion processes of magnesium alloys builds upon our understanding of the corrosion of pure magnesium. This provides an understanding of the types of corrosion exhibited by,magnesium alloys, and also of the environmental factors Of most importance. This deep understanding is required as a foundation if we are to produce magnesium alloys much more resistant to corrosion than the present alloys. Much has already been achieved, but there is vast scope for improvement. This present analysis can provide a foundation and a theoretical framework for further, much needed research. There is still vast scope both for better fundamental understanding of corrosion processes, engineering usage of magnesium, and also on the corrosion protection of magnesium alloys in service.