Development of P/M magnesium alloys and corrosion of porous materials including P/M alloys

In the past quarter century the increasing cost of energy and increased environmental awareness has lead to a global requirement for the reduction of automotive emissions. One strategy for the reduction of emissions is reducing the gross weight of vehicles. As the weight is decreased, less fuel is consumed to propel the vehicle. Light metals such as aluminum and magnesium can reduce the weight of the vehicle. However, magnesium, the lightest structural metal, is difficult to form into usable shapes. One way to achieve this is via powder metallurgy (P/M). The first major effort of the present proposal is to investigate the development of new magnesium alloys for P/M processing that will reduce the porosity and will increase the mechanical properties of the alloys. The selection of the alloying constituents will be done on the basis of the previous expertise of the applicant and his team for an effective processing of the proposed alloy via P/M techniques. The alloys will be fully characterized and their microstructure will be determine as it affects the mechanical behaviour of the product. The second major effort of the proposal addresses the issues of corrosion of porous materials. With the advent of the production of nano-particles products contain a very large area which when exposed to corrosive conditions exhibit extremely high rates of corrosion. On the other hand the existence of high surface area is beneficial in case highly reactive materials are desirable such as in biomedical applications. In both cases it will be advantageous to be able to quantify the magnitude of the true surface area. The proposal aims to measure the surface area by applying, as a first step, techniques which were invented for powders to cases of solid samples of high porosity. A great help is also expected by the application of modern surface engineering investigative tools such as profilometry and digital imaging.