Influence of rare earth element on the mechanical properties of ZE41 magnesium alloys produced by mechanical alloying

In this work, we have intended to synthesize ZE41 Magnesium alloys having varying content of Ce of 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 wt.% and to investigate mechanical properties of these alloys. Alloys were produced by mechanical alloying under argon atmosphere. Structural, and mechanical properties of these alloys were investigated by means of XRD, SEM and nanoindenter analysis. From the XRD data it is found that as the Ce content increases, the crystallite size also increases. On the other hand, the hardness of the alloys decreases with the increasing Ce content. Indentation results show that the measured hardness displays a peak load dependence. Load-independent hardness was calculated by Hays-Kendall approach. As a results, it was found that Ce-doping modifies the microstructure and hardness of the alloy.