Heat treatment of vacuum high pressure die cast magnesium alloy AZ91

Alloys produced by high pressure die casting (HPDC) are generally considered non-heat treatable because trapped gas pores tend to expand, causing surface blistering and bulk distortion. In this paper, vacuum assisted HPDC of magnesium alloy AZ91 was used, and the properties were assessed. The specimens produced using vacuum die casting contain less porosity. Little improvement in yield strength by applying vacuum is found, although a small increase in elongation is observed. A conventional heat treatment applied to the vacuum die cast AZ91 shows pronounced precipitation hardening during aging, especially after a prior solution treatment. However, an associated improvement in yield strength after aging is not observed, and this is related to the decreased contribution of the ‘skin’ effect as a result of grain growth.