This study investigates the influence of billet condition and die design on the microstructure, texture evolution, and mechanical properties of extruded AA6082 flat bands. Using cast and pre-extruded billets, profiles were produced with a conventional flat die and a modified die featuring a different press channel geometry, thereby altering local deformation conditions. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analyses were performed on both final profiles and billet remainders to trace texture development along the extrusion path. Pre-extruded billets showed enhanced recrystallization and finer, more homogeneous grain structures, while cast billets retained deformation textures and required higher strain accumulation to activate recrystallization nucleation mechanisms. The modified die promoted Goss texture formation and reduced peripheral coarse grain zones, resulting in improved ductility and reduced anisotropy. Finite element simulations confirmed smoother strain introduction in the modified die route, facilitating dynamic recrystallization. Mechanical testing revealed that the combination of pre-extruded billets and modified die yielded the most favorable properties, including high tensile strength and uniform elongation. These findings highlight the critical role of initial microstructure and strain path engineering in tailoring texture and mechanical performance in aluminum extrusion, offering practical guidance for optimizing lightweight structural components.

Ureteral stents are fundamental devices in urology but currently used stents are associated with adverse events such as encrustation and infections. Biodegradable magnesium yttrium (Mg-Y) has shown potential as base material for a next-generation biodegradable ureteral stent due to reported lower corrosion rates than pure Mg, homogeneous corrosion and associated antibacterial activity. In the present work, meshed tubes were produced via additive manufacturing (AM) and extruded, and coiled, wire tubes were fabricated. The corrosion behavior in dynamic conditions was studied, as well as the cytotoxicity and antibacterial activity. AM samples showed faster corrosion (associated with higher surface area and impurity level), while the extruded ones showed some localized corrosion points. Additionally, AM samples demonstrated lower toxicity compared with the extruded-coiled ones to urinary tract derived cell lines, at a low metal exposed surface area/volume ratio of 27.5 mm2/ml. AM samples also showed antibacterial activity against E. coli. This study highlights the potential of Mg-Y for the development of a biodegradable ureteral stent, an innovative concept with expected improved patient outcomes.

The corrosionCorrosion behavior and residual tensile strengthStrength of extruded Mg-alloys (WE43, Mg10Gd, ZX10) were investigated by immersion in HBSS at 37 °C over varying durations. Cylindrical samples were evaluated via weight loss, while corroded tensile specimens underwent µCT-analysis before and after mechanical testing to correlate fractureFracture behavior with corrosion morphologyCorrosion morphology. Additionally, digital image correlation (DIC)Digital Image Correlation (DIC) was applied to determine the true-stress distribution. Mg10Gd exhibits slightly higher strengthStrength compared to WE43 and ZX10. Despite comparable initial strengthsStrength, ZX10 maintained superior residual strengthResidual strength over time. Pitting corrosionCorrosion has been mainly found in Mg10Gd and WE43. Its correlation to crackCrack initiation is discussed. µCT-analysis revealed that fracturesFracture occurred variably, either at the smallest cross-section, at isolated deep pits or in other critical regions. These findings support a better understanding of critical regions of non-uniform corroded Mg-alloys and the influence of the corrosionCorrosion time on the fractureFracture mechanism and strengthStrength loss.

A selection of extruded Mg-Li-Y alloys with varying amounts of the Li and Y alloying elements, considered for temporary orthopedic implant applications, was investigated in terms of their corrosion resistance in a simulated physiological environment and cytocompatibility. The achieved corrosion rates were found to be comparable to other magnesium alloy bioimplant candidate materials, with the best-performing LW24 alloy achieving a very competitive value of 0.77 mm/year. Its resistance to corrosion attack was linked to the high yttrium concentration in the corrosion layer, thereby enhancing its barrier effect. Furthermore, no increased vulnerability to corrosion attack was detected for the dual-phase matrix hcp + bcc LW81 alloy. Both the ISO-standardized test on extracts and direct contact tests verified the cytocompatibility of all the investigated Mg-Li-Y alloys, with the successful colonization of the sample surfaces by the hFOB 1.19 osteoblast cells confirmed by the fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy observations.

Applications of metallic biomaterials such as sutures, knots, coils and certain types of stents require a comprehensive assessment of the resulting property profiles for the intended use case. While the feasibility of wire production and the melting and solidification behavior are a focus for additive manufacturing processing routes, mechanical properties and their development during a degradation period are of primary interest for biomedical applications. The development of distinct mechanical properties of magnesium wires can be controlled by the thermomechanical treatment applied in the manufacturing process and by the alloys used. While the conventional method for wire manufacturing involves drawing processes, direct extrusion using customized dies for enabling envisioned high degrees of deformation allows a single-stage wire production. Depending on the alloy composition different mechanical properties are achieved. This work highlights the potential for controlled development of wires for biomedical applications, demonstrating how various alloy compositions can be optimized to produce wires with the desired properties. While binary Magnesium-Yttrium maintains reasonable mechanical properties and homogeneous degradation profile also during immersion in artificial urine solution, alloys with Calcium as an alloying element revealed increasing brittleness as well as an alloy with sole Indium addition.

For the corrosion behavior of three extruded Mg alloys (WE43, Mg10Gd, ZX10), the corrosion morphology and the resulting local stress distribution are correlated with the residual strength using & micro;CT, Digital Image Correlation and tensile tests. Samples are corroded in HBSS at 37 degrees C for various exposure times to increase the extent of corrosion. They are then examined by using the gravimetric method to determine the corrosion rate. Corroded tensile samples are subjected to & micro;CT analysis before and after tensile testing. The crack formation originating from pitting corrosion is discussed on the basis of the stress distribution around local corrosion-its extent is clearly influenced on the morphology. & micro;CT analyses reveals that fractures occur in different ways, either at the smallest cross section, at isolated deep pitting sites, or in other critical areas with critical pitting quantity or size. Mg10Gd has a slightly higher strength compared to WE43 and ZX10. ZX10 maintains superior residual strength over time. Pitting corrosion is mainly observed in Mg10Gd and WE43, with different degrees of residual strength. This study allows for a better understanding and prediction of critical areas of non-uniform corroded Mg alloys and provides information on the bearable stress concentration.

Four novel magnesium alloys (Mg-4Ca-1Y, Mg-4Ca-1Y-1Al, Mg-4Ca-1Y-1Zn, and Mg-4Ca-1Y-1Al-1Zn, in wt%) specifically designed for application in the aerospace industry were processed by 12 passes of equal channel angular pressing. The resulting microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated. The thermomechanical processing led to significant grain refinement, resulting in a mean grain size from 0.6 mu m to 1.6 mu m, depending on the chemical composition. Detailed microstructural analysis revealed seven intermetallic phases, including the LPSO 18 R in the Mg-4Ca-1Y-1Zn alloy. The resulting microstructural state is significantly affected by aluminium addition, which prevents the formation of the LPSO 18 R and Mg3Zn3Y2 phases in the Mg-4Ca-1Y1Al-1Zn alloy. Mechanical performance was affected by grain boundary segregation, which plays a crucial role in grain boundary cohesion and contributes to the brittle behaviour observed in the Mg-4Ca-1y-1Zn alloy. However, aluminium addition reduces the elemental segregation, resulting in higher ductility. The ultrafine-grained microstructure, combined with a dense distribution of secondary phase particles, significantly increased strength. The Mg-4Ca-1Y-1Al-1Zn alloy exhibits the best mechanical properties with a high tensile yield strength of 291 MPa and moderate ductility of 6.5 %.

For an improvement in the properties of semi-finished products, the detailed knowledge of the influence of the manufacturing process on the microstructure and texture evolution of the flat products is required. Rolling of sheets has been conducted at various temperatures to study the difference between the two alloys W1 (Mg1Y) and WZ10 (Mg1Y0.5Zn) in terms of microstructure- texture development and their formability at room temperature. For WZ10 it can be shown, that the formability strongly depends on the rolling temperature which can be increased after additional heat treatment. A strongly deformed microstructure is a prerequisite for the as-rolled condition to form the quadrupole type of texture during subsequent annealing, which stands for high formability. Whereas W1 behaves differently and shows the highest formability in the as rolled condition. The research reveals that the high proportion of shear bands, or the internal energy already contained in the material, is responsible for the different deformation behavior of the rolled sheet, leading to a higher activity of non-basal slip systems.

A selection of pre-extruded alloys from the Mg-Li-Y system designed for biodegradable orthopedic implant applications was processed by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP). The effect of the resulting microstructure and texture on the mechanical and corrosion performance was investigated. Whereas the single-phase matrix Mg-2Li-2Y, Mg-2Li-4Y, Mg-4Li-2Y, and Mg-4Li-4Y alloys (wt. %) exhibited nearly fully recrystallized finegrained microstructure, the hcp alpha-phase of the dual phase hcp + bcc Mg-8Li-1Y alloy exhibited bimodal microstructure. The effect of Li alloying on the activation of non-basal slip systems during ECAP processing gave rise to specific textural components and, during uniaxial tensile and compressive loading, contributed to excellent ductility of the investigated alloys. The fine-grained microstructure led to sufficient strength and low yield asymmetry. The resistance to the initial corrosion attack was partially compromised by the numerous Mg24Y5 precipitates observed in the microstructure of all five alloys. The immersion tests revealed comparatively high corrosion resistance approaching the target values required for internal fixation implants.

In this study, lean quaternary magnesium alloys with nominal compositions (wt%) of Mg-1Zn-0.5Mn-0.3Ce (MgZn-Mn-Ce), Mg-1Zn-0.2Ca-0.3Ce (Mg-Zn-Ca-Ce) and Mg-1Zn-0.2Ca-0.5Mn (Mg-Zn-Ca-Mn) were produced using permanent mould direct chill casting and the corrosion behaviours up to 168 h of immersion in phosphate buffer solution (PBS) at 37 degrees C were investigated. Various techniques were employed to conduct corrosion tests, including weight loss, hydrogen evolution, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) to quantify the amount of released Mg during both static immersion tests and downstream analysis using a flow cell, potentiodynamic polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The obtained data was analysed in detail to compare the corrosion resistance of the three magnesium alloys and the effectiveness of the various test methods. Among the studied alloys, the Mg-Zn-Mn-Ce alloy exhibited the highest dissolution rate during the initial immersion period. However, a substantial improvement in the corrosion resistance was observed for this alloy, especially after 24 h of immersion due to the formation of a dense and compact protective surface film. Additionally, the Mg-Zn-Ca-Mn alloy displayed better corrosion resistance compared to the Mg-ZnCa-Ce alloy for immersion durations up to 24 h, above which it significantly decreased.

Experimental exploration of the vast number of potentially effective organic inhibitors presents a major bottleneck in finding suitable alternatives for chromate-based corrosion inhibitors as the quantities of these organic compounds are essentially infinite. To tackle this challenge, a multi-well experimental method for corrosion inhibitor screening has been proposed in this work. The inhibition effect and pitting factor of 229 potential inhibitors were determined by profilometric analysis using the high-throughput experiment. The accuracy is validated by traditional gravimetric weight loss analysis. The obtained results indicate that the developed approach is of great significance in accelerating the discovery and application of dissolution modulators.

This study investigates the combined effect of Li and Y alloying on the mechanical performance and corrosion resistance of hot-extruded magnesium alloys. Five alloys from the Mg–Li–Y system with varying amounts and ratios of Li and Y, namely the single-phase matrix Mg–2Li–2Y, Mg–2Li–4Y, Mg–4Li–2Y, Mg–4Li–4Y, and the dual-phase matrix Mg–8Li–1Y (wt.%), were processed by hot extrusion. The presented microstructural investigation revealed varying levels of Y supersaturation, arising from the rapid air cooling after extrusion. The non-equilibrium distribution of Y alloying atoms and the degree of Mg–Y secondary phase formation were found to be substantially influenced by the presence of Li in the hcp matrix, in contrast to the previously investigated ECAP-processed materials. The microstructural differences among the investigated alloys governed their performance in the mechanical and corrosion performance testing, which were conducted as a preliminary screening of their suitability for biomedical applications. Especially the best-performing Mg–4Li–4Y alloy benefited from the synergic effects of Li and Y alloying and the non-equilibrium microstructural states arising from the extrusion process, achieving an excellent balance of strength and ductility combined with a comparatively low corrosion rate in the preliminary degradation experiments.

The main disadvantage of the dieless wire drawing process is the complex interdependence of the process parameters, which often leads to process instability. The objective of this paper is to integrate the analysis of material behaviour with process performance, thereby extending the range of applicability and enhancing process control. For this purpose, the forming zone and its length are investigated and evaluated in detail to identify stable process scenarios and to predict the occurrence of (non-)localised deformation and actual diameter reduction. It is found that elevated temperatures above about 0.6 times the melting temperature result in well localised deformation, whereas increasing the feeding speed or the reduction ratio increases the length of the forming zone. An equation is presented for calculating the length of the forming zone based on material properties and process settings. In addition, stable process conditions are given, including minimum forming zone lengths and maximum possible diameter reductions. Predictions of actual diameter reductions using different approaches are also presented.

This study investigates the local texture modification of two magnesium alloys (AZ31 and ZX10) and an aluminum alloy (AA6082) based on changes in the die design. For this purpose, a conventional flat die and a modified die, which has been additively manufactured to allow for a significant modification of the material flow, are investigated. Extrusion tests are carried out, followed by a comprehensive examination of the microstructure and local texture development. These experimental results are complemented by finite element analysis of the state variable distribution in the cross section of the extruded band. The results demonstrate that the texture change is connected to the strain path and can therefore be controlled based on the die design. This equally applies to all of the investigated alloys, despite their differences in crystallographic deformation and recrystallization behavior. Accordingly, a rotation of the dominant texture components about ND at the edge of the band of approximately 40 degrees, 45 degrees, and 20 degrees is observed for AZ31, ZX10, and AA6082, respectively. These findings correlate well with the difference in rotation around ND between the dies of 39 degrees, which is calculated numerically based on the deformation gradient tensor. Furthermore, AZ31 and ZX10 demonstrate a broadening of the basal planes in the TD when extruded with the modified die, which can be related to the increased shear strains in the ED/TD plane over the entire width of the band. For ZX10 specifically, a completely different texture is generated due to the combination of the broadened basal planes in TD, the rotation of the dominant texture component around ND, and its tilt in ED, characteristic of extruded Ca-containing Mg-alloys. The investigation on AA6082 further illustrates the importance of the effective temperature and strain rate in the forming zone for its texture development. While no significant change in the microstructure is evident, the increased heat dissipation and smoothed introduction of dislocations during extrusion with the modified die correlates with a transition from Cube to Goss as the dominant texture component.

Identifying the relationships between material structure and mechanical properties has been crucial for accelerating the exploration of the material design space for advanced alloys. However, traditional approaches for magnesium (Mg) alloys often fall short in providing quantitative and broadly applicable structure-property linkages. To address this challenge, a comprehensive machine learning pipeline is presented for structure-property modeling in extruded Mg-alloys, leveraging both microstructure and texture descriptors derived from experimental data. The pipeline encompasses a robust workflow for data extraction from optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction, advanced image processing and deep learning techniques for microstructure binarization and grain statistics, and the computation of statistical descriptors including n-point spatial correlations, gram matrices for microstructure, and generalized spherical harmonics (GSH) for texture. Dimensionality reduction techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA), isomap, and autoencoders are employed to manage the high-dimensionality of the descriptor space. Subsequently, non-linear regression models-Gaussian Process, XGBoost, and Multi-Layer Perceptron regressors-are evaluated to predict mechanical properties, specifically strain hardening exponent (n) and yield stress (sigma(y)). Our results demonstrate that XGBoost consistently outperforms other regressors, achieving a notably low mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 6.67% for strain hardening exponent and 7.01% for yield stress, using a combination of PCA-reduced 3-point spatial correlations and isomap-reduced gram matrices as microstructure descriptors, and isomap-reduced GSH coefficients as texture descriptors at a 150 mu m length scale. Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) analysis further reveals that texture descriptors and aspect ratio distribution are the most influential features in predicting mechanical properties. This established ML framework for structure-property modeling in Mg-alloys, surpasses state-of-the-art benchmarks and provides a valuable template for materials design and discovery.

By tuning the extrusion parameters, the corrosion performances of as-extruded Mg-0.5Zn(-0.2X) alloys (X: Ca/Sr/Ag/In/Cu, denoted as Z05, Z0502-Ca, Z0502-Sr, Z0502-Ag, Z0502-In and Z0502-Cu, respectively) with similar grain sizes were investigated and compared with their as-cast counterparts. The formed Fe-Si precipitates after hot processing significantly accelerate the corrosion rates of Z05, Z0502-Ag and Z0502-In, whereas the driving force from the Fe-encapsulated MgCaSi(Fe) and MgSrSi(Fe) precipitates are not as strong in Z0502-Ca and Z0502-Sr. Impacts from Fe impurity in Z0502-Cu are masked in the fast corrosion due to the noble Mg2Cu intermetallics. Fe precipitation during hot processing is critical for micro-alloyed systems, as the changes in intermetallic/impurity distributions impact the corrosion performances profoundly. The enthalpy of formation and the potential difference are the key factors that influence the distribution of precipitate during hot processing.

Zinc (Zn) in particular has gained attention as biodegradable metal due to its advantageous corrosion rates compared to magnesium (Mg) or iron (Fe). Still, strength and ductility of zinc are found to be unfavorable for many medical applications. Strategies to overcome such issues base on a distinct grain refinement of the respective product. One important condition of the metal is assumed to be in the form of wires, which in the present work stem from a direct extrusion setup and high degrees of deformation, therefore a hot forming procedure as the underlying thermomechanical treatment. A basic binary alloying approach with Mg, manganese (Mn) and copper (Cu) is applied, limiting the content to a solid solution range of the alloys. The processability and the processing ranges are examined as well as their impact on the microstructure development and the resulting mechanical behavior. Higher extrusion speed leads to inhomogeneous material flow during extrusion. Alloying Zn can reduce the influence of process parameters and decrease the average grain sizes of wires which experienced lower temperature impact. The forming ability of pure Zn and ZnMg-alloy remain limited whereas they appear more beneficial for the alloys with Mn and especially Cu.

Due to their biodegradable properties, magnesium- and zinc-based alloys are in the focus of interest for numerous medical applications, e.g. in the form of thin wires. To achieve improved processability by using hot forming and to obtain higher diameter reductions per pass, the dieless wire drawing process is presented in this paper. In order to investigate the processability and the resulting mechanical properties, a selection of magnesium- and zinc-alloys as well as process parameters are chosen, and wire manufacturing is carried out using the dieless drawing process. The resulting process windows and mechanical properties for the selected materials are discussed. It is found that the length of the forming zone is an important indicator for the process window and the cross-sectional area reduction accuracy in the dieless wire drawing process. Furthermore, process parameter variations result in a distinct variation of the mechanical properties of the wires, whereas process temperatures close to the wire extrusion temperature result in mechanical properties similar to the as-extruded wires. Good localization of the deformation is found for forming zones of 25–75 mm length at elevated temperatures and cross-sectional area reductions of up to 30% are possible for Z1 and ZX10 in one drawing step. Graphical Abstract

Magnesium alloys play an essential role in metallic lightweight construction for modern mobility applications due to their low density, excellent specific strength, and very good castability. For some years now, degradable implants have also been made from magnesium alloys, which, thanks to this special functionality, save patients a second surgery for explantation. New additive manufacturing processes, which are divided into powder-based and wire-based processes depending on the feedstock used, can be utilized for these applications. Therefore, magnesium alloys should also be used here, but this is hardly ever implemented, and few literature reports exist on this subject. This is attributable to the high affinity of magnesium to oxygen, which makes the use of powders difficult. Therefore, magnesium wires are likely to be used. In this paper, a magnesium-based nanocomposite wire is made from an AM60 (Mg-6Al-0.4Mn) (reinforced with 1 wt% AlN nanoparticles and containing calcium to reduce flammability), using a high-shear process and then extruded into wires. These wires are then used as feedstock to build up samples by wire-arc directed energy deposition, and their mechanical properties and microstructure are examined. Our results show that although the ductility is reduced by adding calcium and nanoparticles, the yield strength in the welding direction and perpendicular to it is increased to 131 MPa.

The mechanical propertiesMechanical Properties of Mg can be substantially improved by the addition of YY and Zn. Further, alloying elements modify the secondary phases formed by the former, enabling to tailor the properties. Samples of pure Mg1.8Y0.6Zn and modified with 1.6 wt