Growth of primary a phase in the semi-solid state Mg-Zn-Ca-Zr alloy

The coarsening of the primary a phase in a Mg-6.0%Zn-2.0%Ca-1.5%Zr alloy in the semi-solid state temperature range was investigated to establish the necessary processing conditions for the semi solid state forming processes. The growth of the primary α phase was found to be influenced by the sample heating and holding duration. In addition, the growth rate was observed to be rather high for a lower holding temperature. These phenomena were discussed based on the experimentally measured distance between the grains in the semi-solid state.