Influence of Rare Earth Elements in Magnesium Alloy - A Mini Review

In recent days, the use of Magnesium and its alloys is preferred in defence, automotive and aerospace industries where large size and complex components are required in light weight. Besides, magnesium alloys are used in computers, electronic devices and biomedical applications. Alloying magnesium with rare earth elements (RE) is used to develop the light alloys for the stated applications at elevated temperature. Rare earth magnesium alloys are having unique properties over other metals, including a high specific strength, low thermal conductivity, good damping capacity and good castability. In this review article, the recent development of rare earth magnesium alloys will be reviewed from the view point of novel alloying designs. It has been revealed that in ternary alloy system Mg-ZN-RE alloy exhibited high strength and ductility. This leads the researchers to investigate Mg-ZN-RE alloy recently.