Magnesium alloys have attracted considerable attention for potential applications in the automotive industry as they are 75 percent lighter than steel and 33 percent lighter than aluminum alloys. However, the low strength and poor formability at room temperature (RT) hinders the wider applications of wrought magnesium alloy sheets.

Researchers in Japan report the development of a new high-strength magnesium sheet alloy (Mg–1.1Al–0.3Ca–0.2Mn–0.3Zn) with excellent room-temperature formability comparable to that of aluminum sheet metal used in automotive body panels. The magnesium alloy becomes stronger than aluminum alloy after heat treatment, uses only common metals and could be a low-cost, lightweight sheet metal for automotive applications.

The excellent formability was achieved by adding small amounts of zinc and manganese, resulting in fine grain Comparison of newly developed and conventional magnesium alloy sheets after they were subjected to Erichsen tests. Image credit: National Institute for Materials Sciencestructures, and the high strength was realized by adding aluminum and calcium, which induced the strengthening of the alloy by the formation of atomic clusters.

The low processing cost indicates prospects for practical applications in automotive bodies or casings for notebook computers and cell phones.

Researchers from the National Institute for Materials Science and Nagaoka University of Technology participated in this development.