Development of P/M magnesium alloys and surface treatment of magnesium in molten salts

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In today's energy crisis situation to meet societal and environmental demands for a global reduction in automotive emissions we need to use light-weight materials in the construction of transportation vehicles.  Aluminum, being one of the lightest metals, has successfully penetrated the automotive market and is presently being produced in large amounts. Magnesium which is even lighter than aluminum has not yet been utilized to a large extent. The reasons for this are the lack of developed commercial magnesium alloys, the difficulty to shape magnesium alloys into sheets, and the corrosion of magnesium alloys in the environment. The proposed research aims at developing: a) new alloys of magnesium by the method of compacting and consolidating powders of magnesium metal and other alloying additions and b) new methods in molten salts to produce coatings on the surface of magnesium alloys that will eliminate or reduce the corrosion of magnesium. The proposed research has been used successfully by the applicant in the case of aluminum and it is expected to produce good results in the case of magnesium and magnesium alloys. The expected benefits of this work to the whole area of utilization of light materials to transportation lie on the prospects of creating a new environmentally friendly way of making automotive components by reducing the waste of magnesium. Canada also stands to benefit from this kind of work because Canada is the largest producer of electrolytic magnesium in the world.