Robustness of Large Thin Wall Magnesium Die Castings for Crash Applications

The robustness of large magnesium thin wall die castings has been proven through testing performed directly on components and supported by statistical analysis of the test data. In addition, an extensive investigation carried out on specimens cut from components tends to show that the material exhibits a composite failure mode. The skin shows high consistent elongations close to the intrinsic potential of the alloy, while the core properties vary with the micro-defects inherent to the process. Design data has therefore been developed by reverse engineering from component tests, considering local properties and loading mode.