Recent research and development status of wrought magnesium alloys in China is reviewed, and more attentions are paid to structure controlling, plastic processing, welding, surface treatment and product application. The control of alloy phases, grain refinement, deforming behavior and twin-roll strip casting process are discussed. The existing problems on the research and development of wrought magnesium alloys in China are analyzed.

Magnesium has a hexagonal close-packed crystal structure which makes it more difficult to deform than aluminum. Conventional strip production usually requires several process steps to reach the final strip thickness. Strip casting can reduce some of the process steps and make strip processing simpler and easier, especially for alloys with poor deformability. The twin-roll casting process can directly obtain strips with thickness less than one or two millimeters. In this paper, the metallurgical characteristics of the twin-roll strip casting process were analyzed and discussed. A laboratory scale vertical twin roll caster in prepared AZ31 magnesium alloy strips, with 1.0 to 2.0 mm thick and 150mm wide. Process stability in the thin strip casting process of the alloy has been studied, the casting temperature (superheat) was proven to be a key factor influencing process stability and casting strip quality. The as-cast microstructure of the alloy was analyzed and evaluated by optical microscopy, which showed that the as-cast microstructure was composed of developed dendrites when the superheat was high, and of a rosebush-like structure when the superheat was low. When the casting temperature was close to the liquid phase temperature，the as-cast microstructure became global or grainy, and the grain size of the cast strip was very small. This remarkably improved the deformability of the as-cast strip.

With the aim of evaluating corrosion inhibition for various inhibitors, a new qualitative method for corrosion inhibition effect test for magnesium and magnesium alloys was developed. The change of polarization current density of AZ61 magnesium alloy in electrochemical polarization experiments in alkali aqueous solution with 5mmol/L sodium dodecylsulphate(SDS), phytic acid(PA), ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid(EDTA), p-nitro-benzene-azo-resorcinol(PNBAR), acidum tannicum(AT) or stearic acid(SA) were tested. The SEM-EDS techniques and deposition experiment method were used for further confirmation of the corrosion inhibition. The results showed that those organic compounds which could form the inhibitor-magnesium precipitation in aqueous solution could be used as corrosion inhibitors for magnesium alloys to inhibit the increase of polarization current density as well as the dissolution and oxidation of magnesium alloys effectively.

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To investigate pinholes in 8079 Aluminum foil, optical microscopy and scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive spectrometer were adopted. Results show that four types of pinholes in 8079 aluminum foil, (1) small size, rod-shaped, (2) pinhole in groove, (3) hole with big size, (4) crumpled pinholes. Big compounds along with all rolling and heat treatment processes cause the small rod-shaped pinhole. The big compound contains elements of Al-Fe-O.