The shapes and orientations of precipitates have important
influences
on the mechanical properties of precipitation-strengthened magnesium
alloys. In this work, the microstructure and precipitation behaviors
of an aged Mg-3.0 wt % La alloy are investigated by atomic resolution
scanning transmission electron microscopy. The main precipitate product
at the peak-aged stage is a category of La-enriched solid solution
with a face-centered cubic (FCC) lattice, which will subsequently
evolve into another precipitation strengthening phase with a tetragonal
(T) lattice at the over-aged stage. The crystallographic orientations
and shapes of FCC and T precipitates are elaborated on. Distinctively,
La-rich FCC structures can maintain three types of orientation relationships
(ORs) with the α-Mg matrix, which are defined as type-A OR (⟨001⟩FCC //[0001]α), type-B OR (⟨110⟩FCC //[0001]α), and type-C OR (⟨111⟩FCC //[0001]α). It is concluded that the T
phase always nucleates at the {100}FCC crystallographic
planes of La-rich FCC structures and gradually grows up by consuming
La-rich solid solution. Based on the conversion from FCC to T lattices,
the occurred T precipitates can be divided into four classifications
whose fourfold rotational axes are parallel to the c-axis, basal plane, ⟨202̅3⟩α, and ⟨101̅2⟩α zone axes of
the α-Mg matrix, respectively. At the same time, there exist
six sets of crystallographic ORs (type-A1, type-A2, type-A3, type-B1,
type-B2, and type-C1) between the T phase and α-Mg matrix. In
view of the interfacial matching, the shapes of the existing T phase
involve the sphere, prismatic, and basal plates, whose effects on
the mechanical properties are also predicted theoretically.