Research into lightweighting to improve vehicle fuel efficiency and reduce exhaust emissions continues as environmental regulations become increasingly stringent. Magnesium alloys, chosen for their lightweight properties, are more than 35% lighter than aluminum alloys and also exhibit excellent mechanical characteristics. While magnesium alloys are commonly utilized in arc welding processes like GTAW and GMAW, they pose challenges such as high residual stresses and welding defects. Laser welding, on the other hand, offers the advantage of precise heat input, enabling deep and high-quality welds while minimizing welding distortion. In this study, fiber laser welding was employed to weld a 4.0mm thick AZ31B-H24 using the Bead on Plate technique. A total of 10 different welding conditions were tested with fiber laser welding, and the cross-sections of the weld beads were examined. Weld bead shapes were measured based on five parameters. The results allowed for an evaluation of the weldability of AZ31B-H24 using fiber laser welding.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the statistical behavior of fatigue crack propagation(FCP) in magnesium alloy AZ31. FCP tests have been performed on compact specimens of AZ31 at load ratio conditions and maximum fatigue load conditions to obtain statistical data of FCP. It was found that the variability of fatigue crack propagation rate was significantly large at initial stage of FCP and gradually became smaller as the fatigue crack propagated. The finding of the study showed that increasing the load ratio could increase the variability of fatigue crack propagation rate at initial FCP stage. The samller the load ratio, the higher the fatigue crack propagation rate at initial stage. It was also found that the load ratio is a factor affecting the fatigue crack propagation rate in magnesium alloy.

PURPOSES : In this study, a method to use magnesium phosphate ceramic (MPC) concrete for the surface maintenance of airport pavements with jointed concrete is developed. METHODS : To investigate the application of a material incorporated with MPC for the surface maintenance of airport pavements with jointed concrete, structures with various cross-sections and thicknesses were constructed. The cross-section of the structure was modeled for the surface maintenance of four types of pavements and typical pavement construction processes, such as cutting, cleaning, production and casting, finishing, hardening, and joint reinstallation. Subsequently, the hours required for each process was determined. RESULTS : The MPC concrete used for the surface maintenance of airport pavements with jointed concrete demonstrate excellent performance. The MPC concrete indicates a compressive strength exceeding 25 MPa for 2 h, and its hydration heat is 52.9 ℃~61.2 ℃. Meanwhile, the crushing and cleaning performed during the production and casting of the MPC require a significant amount of time. Specifically, for a partial repair process, a total of 6 h is sufficient under traffic control, although this duration is inadequate for a complete repair process. CONCLUSIONS : MPC concrete is advantageous for the surface maintenance of airport pavements with jointed concrete. In fact, MPC concrete can be sufficiently constructed using existing concrete maintenance equipment, and partial repair works spanning a cross-sectional area of 11 m2 can be completed in 1 d. In addition, if the crushing and cleaning are performed separately from production and construction, then repair work using MPC concrete can be performed at a larger scale.

Magnesium alloy is the lightest practical metal. It has excellent specific strength and recyclability as well as abundant reserves, and is expected to be a next-generation structural metal material following aluminum alloy. This paper investigated the possibility of thin plate fabrication by applying a overheating treatment to the melt drag method, and investigating the surface shape of the thin plate, grain size, grain size distribution, and Vickers hardness. When the overheating treatment was applied to magnesium alloy, the grains were refined, so it is expected that further refinement of grains can be realized if the overheating treatment is applied to the melt drag method. By applying overheating treatment, it was possible to fabricate a thin plate of magnesium alloy using the melt drag method, and a microstructure with a minimum grain size of around 12 μm was obtained. As the overheating treatment temperature increased, void defects increased on the roll surface of the thin plate, and holding time had no effect on the surface shape of the thin plate. The fabricated thin plate showed uniform grain size distribution. When the holding times were 0 and 30 min, the grain size was refined, and the effect of the holding time became smaller as the overheating treatment temperature increased. As the overheating temperature becomes higher, the grain size becomes finer, and the finer the grain size is, the higher the Vickers hardness.

Molten salts based on magnesium chloride can be used in the nuclear power reactor because they have a high heat capacity and heat stability, and allow for a faster neutron spectrum. However, magnesium chloride is highly hygroscopic, leading to the formation of moisture-related impurities, which result in the corrosion of structural materials and negatively affect the operation of the reactor. The dehydration of magnesium chloride is studied using both thermal and electrochemical treatments. According to previous studies, water impurities in magnesium chloride molten salt transform into magnesium oxide over 650 degrees Celsius. The temperature profile of the molten salt is suggested to separate magnesium chloride and magnesium oxide, focusing on cooling rate near the freezing point of magnesium chloride. Two layers separated by a phase boundary on the salt surface appear due to the density difference between magnesium oxide and magnesium chloride. Further, the removal of oxide ions remaining in the molten salt is carried out by electrochemical treatment. Two different cells, each consisting of two electrodes, are used. One cell is composed of graphite anode and nickel cathode. The other is composed of tin oxide anode and nickel cathode. As the reaction proceeds, carbon dioxide and oxygen are generated in graphite and tin oxide, respectively, and magnesium electrodeposition occurs at the cathode. The amount of purified magnesium oxide is measured to the endpoint, which is notified by the reduced current. The efficiency of each method is compared by measuring the weight ratio of the purified part to the unpurified part. Thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) and UV-vis spectroscopy are used to check the quality of the purified part. Only magnesium oxide remains at a temperature above the boiling point of magnesium chloride. Therefore, the amount of magnesium oxide in the purified part can be measured by the mass change of the salt through the TGA method. For UV-vis spectroscopy, the transmittance is measured which depends on the weight percent of the impurities in the purified part. The suggested purification method using both thermal and electrochemical treatment is assessed quantitatively and qualitatively. It is expected that hygroscopic molten salts other than magnesium chloride will be able to be dehydrated through the above process.

Research is being actively conducted on the continuous thin plate casting method, which is used to manufacture magnesium alloy plate for plastic processing. This study applied a heat transfer solidification analysis method to the melt drag process. The heat transfer coefficient between the molten magnesium alloy metal and the roll in the thin plate manufacturing process using the melt drag method has not been clearly established until now, and the results were used to determine the temperature change. The estimated heat transfer coefficient for a roll speed of 30 m/min was 1.33 × 105 W/m2·K, which was very large compared to the heat transfer coefficient used in the solidification analysis of general aluminum castings. The heat transfer coefficient between the molten metal and the roll estimated in the range of the roll speed of 5 to 90 m/min was 1.42 × 105 to 8.95 × 104 W/m2·K. The cooling rate was calculated using a method based on the results of deriving the temperature change of the molten metal and the roll, using the estimated heat transfer coefficient. The DAS was estimated from the relationship between the cooling rate and DAS, and compared with the experimental value. When the magnesium alloy is manufactured by the melt drag method, the cooling rate of the thin plate is in the range of about 1.4 × 103 to 1.0 × 104 K/s.

생체용 마그네슘 합금은 전연성 부족과 열에 의한 팽창률 변화가 심하여 2mm 이하의 판재를 만드는 것이 매우 어려움 문제이다. 이를 해결하기 위해 압연 방식, 세이퍼 방식, 밀링 방식 등의 다양한 방법이 존재할 수 있다. 압연 방식을 적용하여 실험을 진행하였으나 Mg 합금은 전연성, 취성의 문제로 인해 파괴되는 현상이 발생하였다. 그리고 세이퍼 방식은 가공시 충격이 발생하는 단속절삭이기 때문에 표면에 자국이 남게 되고 시험편이 휘어지는 현상이 발생하는 문제가 발생하였다. 최종적으로 밀링 방식으로 전환하여 가공실험을 수행해 본 결과 매우 만족할 만한 결과값을 얻게 되었고, 이 결과는 절삭조건을 절삭회전수 1000rpm, 이송속도 127mm/rev, 절삭깊이 0.5mm로 엔드밀 사용하여 가공하였을 때 Ra = 0.44㎛의 표면거칠기값을 얻게 되었다. 본 논문에서는 생체 마그네슘 합금재료로 미소판재를 가공하였을 때 매우 좋은 표면을 유지하며 2mm 이하의 미소 두께를 지속적으로 가공이 가능하도록 하였으며, 다양한 절삭조건, 2날과 4날 엔드밀 날수 변화 등을 통해 최적의 가공조건을 알아보는 실험을 진행하였다.

AZ31 magnesium alloy was used to manufacture a thin plate using a melt drag method. The effects of roll speed, molten metal temperature, and molten metal height, which are the basic factors of the melt drag method, on the surface shape, the thickness of the thin plate, Vickers hardness, and microstructure of the thin plate were investigated. It was possible to manufacture AZ31 magnesium alloy thin plate at the roll speed range of 1 to 90 m/min. The thickness of the thin plate, manufactured while changing only the roll speed, was about 1.8 to 8.8 mm. The shape of the solidified roll surface was affected by two conditions, the roll speed and the molten metal height, and the Vickers hardness of the manufactured magnesium alloy thin plate value ranged from Hv38~Hv60. The microstructure of the thin plate produced by this process was an equiaxed crystal and showed a uniform grain size distribution. The grain size was greatly affected by the contact state between the molten metal and the solidification roll, and the amount of reactive solids and liquids scraped at the same time as the thin plate. The average grain size of the thin plate fabricated in the range of these experimental conditions changed to about 50-300 μm.

Magnesium-antimonide is a well-known zintl phase thermoelectric material with low band gap energy, earthabundance and characteristic electron-crystal phonon-glass properties. The nominal composition Mg3.8-xZnxSb2 (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.02) was synthesized by controlled melting and subsequent vacuum hot pressing method. To investigate phase development and surface morphology during the process, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were carried out. It should be noted that an additional 16 at. % Mg must be added to the system to compensate for Mg loss during the melting process. This study evaluated the thermoelectric properties of the material in terms of Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity from the low to high temperature regime. The results demonstrated that substituting Zn at Mg sites increased electrical conductivity without significantly affecting the Seebeck coefficient. The maximal dimensionless figure of merit achieved was 0.30 for x = 0.01 at 855 K which is 30% greater than the intrinsic value. Electronic flow properties were also evaluated and discussed to explain the carrier transport mechanism involved in the thermoelectric properties of this alloy system.

Magnesium potassium phosphate cements (MKPCs) are prepared by the acid-base reaction of dead burned magnesia (MgO) and monopotassium phosphate (KH2PO4). Low-pH cementitious materials such as MKPCs are currently of interest for the geological disposal of nuclear waste. MKPCs have advantages such as high early strength, high bonding strength, small drying shrinkage, low permeability, and high sulfate resistance. According to the results of previous studies, it is known that cesium, strontium, and cobalt are immobilized in the form of MgCsxK1−xPO4·6H2O, MgxSr1−xKPO4·6H2O, and Co3(PO4)2, respectively, in MKPCs. However, these results were predicted based on thermodynamic data, not directly observed precipitates to clearly show the evidence. Therefore, in this study, we directly analyzed the immobilized forms of Cs, Sr, and Co, respectively. CsNO3, Sr(NO3)2, and Co(NO3)2·6H2O powders (0.3 mol each) were mixed individually in each of the MKPC suspensions. The suspensions in which KH2PO4 was dissolved were pH 4.3 and the dissolution of MgO decreased the H+ concentration, raising the pH close to 11. The hydration products according to pH evolution in the MKPC suspensions were analyzed, and the change in the concentration of ions in the aqueous solution was also measured. An aqueous solution was obtained using a syringe filter (0.45 μm) to analyze the ion concentrations in the solution of the suspension. The collected solutions were diluted with nitric acid and analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. To characterize the solid phases, the suspensions were obtained with a pipette at specific times and filtered under a vacuum in a Buchner funnel. Because the amounts of hydration products including Cs, Sr, and Co were small, it was not observed by XRD and TGA analysis, but their components could be analyzed by SEM-EDS. The final precipitate forms of Cs, Sr, and Co in the MKPC matrix are MgCsPO4·6H2O, SrHPO4, and Co3(PO4)2·8H2O, respectively.

The decommissioning of a nuclear power plant generates large amounts of radioactive waste, which is of several types. Radioactive concrete powder is classified as low-level waste, which can be disposed of in a landfill. However, its safe disposal in a landfill requires that it be immobilized by solidification using cement. Herein, a safety assessment on the disposal of solidified radioactive concrete powder waste in a conceptual landfill site is performed using RESRAD. Furthermore, sensitivity analyses of certain selected input parameters are conducted to investigate their impact on exposure doses. The exposure doses are estimated, and the relative impact of each pathway on them during the disposal of this waste is assessed. The results of this study can be used to obtain information for designing a landfill site for the safe disposal of low-level radioactive waste generated from the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant.

The objectives of this paper are to evaluate the factors affecting the fatigue crack propagation(FCP) behavior in AZ31 magnesium alloy. FCP experiments have been performed on the specimens of AZ31 magnesium alloy under various conditions such as a loading frequency, a specimen thickness, a maximum fatigue load, and a load ratio and the obtained results were analyzed to find the influence factors on the FCP behavior in magnesium alloy. It is necessary to consider the influence factors for the design and the maintenance of lightweight structures. The correlation between the crack growth rate exponent and the crack growth rate coefficient, which are FCP behavior parameters, was also analyzed and the regression model was presented.

To improve the shortcomings and expand the advantages of the single-roll melt drag method, which is a type of continuous strip casting method, the melt drag method with a molding belt is applied to AZ31 magnesium alloy. By attaching the forming belt to the melt drag method, the cooling condition of the thin plate is improved, making it possible to manufacture thin plates even at high roll speed of 100 m/min or more. In addition, it is very effective for continuous production of thin plates to suppress oxidation of the molten metal on the roll contact surface by selecting the protective gas. As a result of investigating the relationship between the contact time between the molten metal and the roll and the thickness of the sheet, it is possible to estimate the thickness of the sheet from the experimental conditions. The relationship between the thin plate thickness and the grain size is one in which the thinner the thin plate is, the faster the cooling rate of the thin plate is, resulting in finer grain size. The contact state between the molten metal and the roll greatly affects the grain size, and the minimum average grain size is 72 μm. The thin plate produced using this experimental equipment can be rolled, and the rolled sample has no large cracks. The tensile test results show a tensile strength of 303 MPa.

An investigation is performed to clarify the manufacturing conditions of pure magnesium and AZ31 magnesium alloy thin plate using the melt drag method. By the melt drag method, suitable for magnesium molten metal, pure magnesium can be produced as a continuous thin plate with a thickness of 1.4 mm to 2.4 mm in the range of 5 m/min to 20 m/min of roll speed, and the width of the thin plate to the nozzle outlet width. AZ31 magnesium alloy is able to produce a continuous sheet of thickness in the range of 5 m/min to 30 m/min in roll circumferential speed, with a thickness of 0.6 mm to 1.6 mm and a width of the sheet matching the nozzle outlet width. In the magnesium melt drag method, the faster the circumferential speed of the roll, the shorter the contact time between the molten metal and the roll, and it is found that the thickness of the produced thin plate becomes thinner. The effect of the circumferential roll speed on the thickness of the thin plate is evident in the low roll circumferential region, where the circumferential speed is 30 m/min or less. The AZ31 thin plate manufactured by the melt drag method has a finer grain size as the thickness of the thin plate decreases, but it is currently judged that this is not the effect of cooling by the roll.

Zintl compound Mg3Sb2 is a promising candidate for efficient thermoelectric material due to its small band gap energy and characteristic electron-crystal phonon-glass behavior. Furthermore, this compound enables fine tuning of carrier concentration via chemical doping for optimizing thermoelectric performance. In this study, nominal compositions of Mg3.8Sb2-xTex (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.03) are synthesized through controlled melting and subsequent vacuum hot pressing method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are carried out to investigate phase development and surface morphology during the process. It should be noted that 16 at. % of excessive Mg must be added to the system to compensate for the loss of Mg during melting process. Herein, thermoelectric properties such as Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity are evaluated from low to high temperature regimes. The results show that Te substitution at Sb sites effectively tunes the majority carriers from holes to electrons, resulting in a transition from p to n-type. At 873 K, a peak ZT value of 0.27 is found for the specimen Mg3.8Sb1.99Te0.01, indicating an improved ZT value over the intrinsic value.

In this paper, graphene-coated Al powders prepared by in situ reduction method were directly used for cold spraying, obtaining a graphene-reinforced Al matrix composite coating with more compact structure and better performance. Cross-sectional analysis revealed that compared with the pure Al powders, the graphene-coated Al powders were more severely deformed, and the resulting coating was denser and its porosity was reduced by over 80%. The hardness of the graphene-coated Al coating was increased by 40%, and its brine immersion time was prolonged by nearly three times. However, the graphene increases the pitting sensitivity of the Al coating; so, the enhanced corrosion resistance of the graphene-coated Al coating is mainly attributed to the improvement of its structure densification.

The passivation of AZ91D Mg alloys through plasma anodization depends on several process parameters, such as power mode and electrolyte composition. In this work, we study the dependence of the thickness, composition, pore formation, surface roughness, and corrosion resistance of formed films on the electrolyte temperature at which anodization is performed. The higher the electrolyte temperature, the lower is the surface roughness, the smaller is the oxide thickness, and the better is the corrosion resistance. More specifically, as the electrolyte temperature increases from 10 to 50 oC, the surface roughness (Ra) decreases from 0.7 to 0.15 μm and the corrosion resistance increases from 3.5 to 9 in terms of rating number in a salt spray test. The temperature increase from 10 to 50 oC also causes an increase in magnesium content in the film from 25 to 63 wt% and a decrease in oxygen from 66 to 21 wt%, indicating dehydration of the film.