International Journal of Cast Metals Research

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Microstructure and mechanical properties of

Mg–8Li–(1, 3)Al–(0, 1)Y alloys

Z. K. Qu, R. Z. Wu & M. L. Zhang

To cite this article: Z. K. Qu, R. Z. Wu & M. L. Zhang (2010) Microstructure and mechanical
properties of Mg–8Li–(1, 3)Al–(0, 1)Y alloys, International Journal of Cast Metals Research, 23:6,
364-367, DOI: 10.1179/136404610X12738456167221

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Published online: 18 Jul 2013.

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 Microstructure and mechanical properties of
Mg–8Li–(1, 3)Al–(0, 1)Y alloys
Z. K. Qu1,2, R. Z. Wu*1 and M. L. Zhang1
The microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg–8Li–(1, 3)Al–(0, 1)Y alloys were studied.
Y refines and spheroidises the microstructures of alloys, and it causes the decrease in a phase
percentage. Blocky AlY exists in a and b phases. When Al content is 3 wt-%, AlLi and MgLi2Al
form in b phase. The Al content solid soluted in the a phase appears larger than that in the
b phase, while the Y content solid soluted in the a phase is less than that in the b phase. The
addition of Al and Y brings about a combination of good strength and elongation for the Mg–8Li
alloy.
Keywords: Magnesium–lithium alloy, Yttrium, Aluminium, Microstructure

Introduction LA83 (Mg–8Li–3Al), LAY811 (Mg–8Li–1Al–1Y) and

With the remarkable feature of a combination of
ultralightness and improved formability, Mg–Li base
alloys are deserving increased attention among high
performance Mg alloys for either academic or technical
interest.1,2
Mg–Li alloy containing 5?7–10?3 wt-%Li consists of
two phases (azb). The existence of b (bcc crystal
structure) phase makes Mg–Li alloys possess higher
elongation than other magnesium alloys. Therefore,
double phase Mg–Li alloys have better comprehensive
mechanical properties than single phase (a or b) Mg–Li
alloys. Mg–Li alloys containing 8–9 wt-%Li are studied
most commonly.3–5 To improve the strength of Mg–Li
alloy, Al, an alloying element, is often added into alloys.
With increasing Al content, the strength of alloys
increases accordingly. However, the elongation of alloys
will decrease sharply when the Al content is .3 wt-%.6,7
To improve the elongation of Mg–Li–Al alloys, Y is
often added in alloys. The addition of Y in Mg–Li–Al
alloys produces a good ductile property.8–10
However, in the previous reports, there are few
reports which discuss the effects of Al and Y on the
microstructure of Mg–Li alloys in detail. In this
paper, the microstructure and mechanical properties of
Mg–8Li–(1, 3)Al–(0, 1)Y alloys were studied.
Experimental
The materials used in the experiments were commercial
pure (CP) magnesium ingot, CP lithium ingot, CP
aluminium ingot and Mg–Y master alloy. First, the
materials were polished to remove oxide scale and
grease. The nominal chemical compositions of alloys
prepared in the experiments were LA81 (Mg–8Li–1Al),
LAY831 (Mg–8Li–3Al–1Y). The materials were loaded
in graphite crucible in a vacuum induction furnace. The
permanent mould for casting was also loaded in the
vacuum induction furnace. Before the materials were
heated, the furnace was pumped to the vacuum and then
was filled with pure argon gas. After the materials were
melted, the melt was poured in a permanent mould to
form an as cast alloy. The as cast alloy is a billet with a
diameter of 50 mm. The actual chemical compositions
of the as cast alloys are listed in Table 1.
The microstructures of specimens were observed with
an optical microscope (OM) and scanning electronic
microscope (SEM). The specimens for observation were
polished and then etched with 2 vol.-% nital. Phase
analysis was carried out with X-ray diffraction. The
chemical compositions of the analysed phases of the
alloys were analysed with energy dispersive X-ray
spectroscopy (EDS). The mechanical properties of the
alloys were tested with a tensile tester (the initial strain
rate is 6?6761024 s21).
Results and discussion
Figure 1 is the microstructure of the alloys. The a phase
(white) distributes evenly in the b phase (grey) matrix in
all the four alloys. In LA81, the a phase is mainly
dendritic. With the addition of Al and Y, the a phase is
refined and becomes spheric. Using the Leica QWin
image analysis software, the statistic results for the grey
areas in the OM pictures are obtained. The a phase
average percentage in alloys (from the average value of
Table 1 Actual chemical compositions of as cast alloys
(standard deviation for data is 2 ppm), wt-%
Alloys Li Al Y

1
Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology, Harbin LA81 7.89 0.65 …
Engineering University, Ministry of Education, Harbin 150001, China LA83 7.79 2.32 …
2
Harbin Normal University, Harbin 150001, China LAY811 7.90 0.73 0.85
LAY831 7.97 2.25 0.89
*Corresponding author, email ruizhiwu2006@yahoo.com

ß 2010 W. S. Maney & Son Ltd.

Received 22 November 2008; accepted 20 April 2010
364 DOI 10.1179/136404610X12738456167221 International Journal of Cast Metals Research 2010 VOL 23 NO 6
 Qu et al. Microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg–8Li–(1, 3)Al–(0, 1)Y alloys

a LA81; b LA83; c LAY811; d LAY831

1 Microstructure of alloys investigated

five zones in a picture) is also changed (LA81, 60?96%;
LA83, 53?15%; LAY811, 49?98; LAY831, 48?43%). The
addition of Al and Y can restrain the formation of a
phase in double phase Mg–Li alloys.
To observe the detail microstructure of alloys, the
high magnification microstructure of the alloys is
shown in Fig. 2. The LA81 alloy is composed of a and
b phases. With increasing Al content from 1 to 3 wt-%,
some flocculent compounds (black) form in the b phase
(Fig. 2b and d). If 1 wt-%Y is added in alloys, some
blocky compounds form in both a and b phases (Fig. 2c
and d). From the X-ray diffraction results in Fig. 3, the
flocculent compounds existing in the b phase are AlLi
and MgLi2Al.11,12 The blocky compound existing both
in a and b phases is AlY.13 Figure 4 shows the SEM
images for the alloys of LA83, LAY811 and LAY831.
The flocculent compounds observed in Fig. 2b and d are
actually granular particles (as shown in Fig. 4a and c).

a LA81; b LA83; c LAY811; d LAY831

2 High magnification microstructure of alloys investigated

International Journal of Cast Metals Research 2010 VOL 23 NO 6 365

Qu et al. Microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg–8Li–(1, 3)Al–(0, 1)Y alloys

a LA81; b LA83; c LAY811; d LAY831

3 X-ray diffraction results of alloys investigated

According to the EDS analysis results (although Li

element cannot be detected by EDS, phases in alloys can
still be inferred through other element contents), the
relatively large size particles are AlLi (‘001’ in Fig. 4a),
and the small size particles are MgLi2Al (‘005’ in
Fig. 4a). The large size blocky compounds existing both
in a and b phases are AlY (‘001’ and ‘002’ in Fig. 4b, and
‘001’ and ‘002’ in Fig. 4c).
Although the EDS cannot quantitatively measure the
element content in alloys, the relative variation in
element content in different phases can be obtained
through the EDS result. Table 2 lists the Al and Y
content solid soluted in a and b phases of alloys
investigated. Except that Al content cannot be detected
in LA81 and LAY811 because of the low Al content a LA83; b LAY811; c LAY831
(in this experiment, the EDS measuring accuracy for Al 4 Images (SEM) of alloys investigated
element is 0?5 wt-%; therefore, if the Al content is
,0?5 wt-%, it cannot be detected), it is likely that the Al formation of AlY phase based on the phases of LA81
content solid soluted in the a phase is larger than that in and LA83.
the b phase, and the Y content solid soluted in the a Table 3 lists the mechanical properties of as cast
phase is less than that in the b phase. alloys investigated. With increasing Al content in alloys,
In LA81, the Al solid solutes in a and b phases the strength increases and the elongation decreases
entirely, and the alloy is composed of a and b phases (the sharply. The increase in strength can be attributed to
solubility of Al in Mg is 12?7 wt-% at 437uC, and it is these aspects: solid solution strengthening, refinement
,1 wt-% at 100uC. The solubility of Al in Li is much less strengthening and second phase strengthening (AlLi and
than 1 wt-%. In the real alloys, the solubility is some- MgLi2Al). In the three aspects, the solid solution
what different from the equilibrium binary phase strengthening is the main cause of strengthening (the
diagram because of other chemical elements and cooling solid solubility of Al in Mg is large), and this makes
rate during solidification.14 With the Al content being the elongation decrease sharply. With the addition of Y
increased to 3 wt-% in LA83, some Al solid solutes in a based on the Mg–Li–Al alloys, the elongation is sharply
and b phases, and the remaining Al exists in the forms of increased, and the strength is also somewhat improved.
MgLi2Al and AlLi. The addition of Y brings about the The increase in elongation can be attributed to the
decrease in a phase amount, spheroidisation and refine-
ment. The strength improvement is due to solid solution,
Table 2 Al and Y content solid soluted in a and b phases
secondary phase (AlY) and refinement. However, the
In a phase In b phase solid solubility of Y in Mg and Li is very low. The solid
solution strengthening effect is not obvious. The size of
Alloys and elements wt-% at-% wt-% at-%
Table 3 Mechanical properties of as cast alloys investigated
LA81 Al 0.75 0.57 0 0 (standard deviation for data is 1%)
LA83 Al 1.23 1.00 0.56 0.43
LAY811 Al 0 0 0 0 Alloys LA81 LAY811 LA83 LAY831
Y 0.38 0.08 0.64 0.15
LAY831 Al 1.08 0.53 0.53 0.42 Ultimate strength, MPa 118.48 127.99 140.08 145.75
Y 0.43 0.11 0.67 0.16 Elongation, % 16 32 7 12

366 International Journal of Cast Metals Research 2010 VOL 23 NO 6

 Qu et al.
AlY particles that precipitated from a and b phases is
coarse (5–10 mm), causing the secondary phase strength-
ening effect to be also not obvious. Therefore, the
strengthening effect of the Y addition is not as good as
that of the Al addition.
Conclusions
The addition of Y refines and spheroidises the micro-
structure of alloys (LA81 and LA83), and the AlY phase
formed during solidification distributes both in a and b
phases. The addition of Y and Al also restrains the for-
mation of a (Mg) phase during the solidification process.
When the Al content is 3 wt-%, AlLi and MgLi2Al phases
form in the b phase. The Al content solid soluted in the a
phase appears larger than that in the b phase, and the Y
content solid soluted in the a phase is less than that in the b
phase. The addition of Al makes alloys possess high
strength and poor elongation, and the addition of Y has an
obvious effect of elongation improvement and somewhat
strengthening effect. Accordingly, the combination addi-
tion of Al and Y in Mg–Li alloys can produce good
comprehensive mechanical properties.
Acknowledgement
The work was supported by the Key Project of Science
and Technology of Harbin City (2008AA4CH044,
2009AA1AG065, 2010AA4BE031), the Fundamen-
tal Research funds for the Central Universities
International Journal of Cast Metals Research
Microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg–8Li–(1, 3)Al–(0, 1)Y alloys
(HEUCF101001), the Key Project of Chinese Ministry
of Education (no. 208181), The Reseach Fund for
the Doctoral Program of Higher Education
(20092304120020) and the Project of Science and
Technology of Heilongjian Province Education
Department (11553054).
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