Overview

1. Towards Room Temperature Formability in Magnesium AlloysMichele Manuel, University of Florida, DMR 0845868 Overview The goal of this CAREER research program is to understand the role of nanoparticles in modifying the deformation behavior of magnesium (Mg) alloys. The central hypothesis is that the presence of nanoparticles in the alloy not only affects grain size, and hence its grain refining capability, but also enhances plastic deformation mechanisms. It is through this fundamental understanding of deformation mechanisms in the presence of nano-sized particles in Mg alloys that deeper insight can be gained into other alloy systems with similar anisotropic crystal structures. Findings Electromagnetic Acoustic Transductance (EMAT) has been used to obtain a distribution of diamond nanoparticles in Mg. These particles can be seen in the TEM micrograph in Figure 1. This work represents an important step forward in the fabrication of bulk nanocomposites with novel properties and will contribute greatly to the understanding of how nanoparticles affect the deformation mechanics of Mg. Diamond, Dysprosia, and Erbia have been incorporated in to Mg and Mg-Li alloys. Figure 1: Brightfield TEM micrograph of 50nm diamond nanoparticles (black structures) dispersed in pure magnesium. The distribution of these nanoparticles appears homogenous and little clustering is observed.

2. Towards Room Temperature Formability in Magnesium AlloysMichele Manuel, University of Florida, DMR 0845868 • Broader Impact • Student Technical Presentations at: • TMS 2012 • 9th International Conference on Magnesium Alloys and their Applications • Student travel and collaboration with General Motors Technical Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Brookhaven National Laboratory Top: The Manuel Group at TMS 2012 in Orlando. Left: Student aligning a magnesium sample for texture analysis at Brookhaven National Lab.