In this study, the characteristics of gas atomized Mg-3wt%Al-1wt%Zn-1wt%MM alloy powders under vacuum condition were investigated. In spite of the low fluidity and easy oxidation of the molten magnesium, the spherical powders could be successfully produced by using a modified three pieces nozzle attached to the gas atomization unit. It was found that most of the solidified powders less than 50m in diameter were single crystal and the solidified structure showed a typical dendritic morphology due to supercooling prior to nucleation. The secondary dendrite arm spacing decreased as the size of powders decreased. The Mg-Al-Ce intermetallic compounds with chemically stable phase were found in the interdendritic regions of -Mg. It is considered that formation of the chemically stable phase may possibly affect to improve the corrosion resistance. Therefore, it is expected that the materials formed of these Mg-Al-Zn-MM alloy powders shows better mechanical properties and corrosion resistance due to the structural refinement.

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