Wear and machinability of AM series magnesium alloys

This study deals with the effect of different quantities of aluminum (Al) on the wear resistance and machinability in AM series cast magnesium alloys. Changes in the quantity of Al in these alloys (containing 0.5 wt.-% Mn) and their effect on hardness, wear resistance and machinability with respect to cutting force were analyzed. To this purpose, AM series cast magnesium alloys (AM20, AM40, AM60, and AM90) in varying amounts of Al from 2 to 9 wt.-% were used. It was observed that the intermetallic phases Mg Al and Al Mn found in the microstructure had an effect on their wear resistance, hardness and machinability (with respect to cutting force), flank build-up, chip formation and surface roughness. AM90 alloy manifested the highest values in terms of hardness, wear resistance and surface quality among these alloys. On the other hand, AM90 alloy had the lowest machinability properties.