A Study on the Formation of Symmetrical Rod Phase in Mg66Zn30Gd4 Alloy

In the present work, the melt structure was affected by controlling the important factors of the melt holding time and cooling rate. The microstructure of the Mg 66 Zn 30 Gd 4 alloys prepared with different melt holding time and cooling rate was observed. It was found that the symmetrical rod phase had the highest volume fraction when the melt holding time was 40 minutes. With the increase of cooling rate, the forming capacity of the symmetrical rod phase was enhanced and refined significantly. Furthermore, the melting and decomposition process of the symmetrical rod phase was studied by resistivity experiment. During the resistivity experiment, the symmetrical rod phase in the Mg–Zn–Gd alloy underwent twice phase structure transformations in a narrow temperature ranges. With the increase of symmetrical rod phase volume fraction, the wear resistance of the Mg 66 Zn 30 Gd 4 alloy is enhanced.