MAG TECH 1 Magnesium

GLOBAL WATCH MISSION REPORT
MAG TECH 1: Magnesium

alloys and processing
technologies for lightweight
transport applications
a mission to Europe
SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2004
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MAG TECH 1: Magnesium

alloys and processing
technologies for
lightweight transport
applications
a mission to Europe
REPORT OF A DTI GLOBAL WATCH MISSION
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004
MAG TECH 1: MAGNESIUM ALLOYS AND PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES FOR LIGHTWEIGHT TRANSPORT APPLICATIONS A MISSION TO EUROPE
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Executive summary
1
1.1
Introduction
Background to mission
6
6
2
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
Objectives of mission
Specific objectives
Benefit to the UK
The mission
The mission team
8
8
8
8
9
3
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
3.10
3.11
3.12
3.13
3.14
Novel casting technologies

LKR new rheocasting (NRC)
process
RWTH Aachen rheo-container
process (RCP)
RWTH Aachen rheocasting
using cooling channel
RWTH Aachen thixomoulding
of magnesium
RWTH Aachen thixocasting of
magnesium
RWTH Aachen investment
casting of magnesium
Gravity casting
Sand casting
BCAST rheo-diecasting (RDC)
process
Casting alloy development
High-pressure die-casting alloys
and key development drivers
Gravity casting alloy
development
Other casting technology
research
Summary
10
12
13
4.1
4.1.1
4.1.2
4.1.3
4.2
4.2.1
4.3
5
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
Developments in processing
25
and manufacture of components
from wrought magnesium
Extruded magnesium profiles
25
Take-Off (aerospace) project
27
VW 1-litre car
28
Formability
28
Sheet magnesium
28
Future development
31
requirements
Forged magnesium
32
Joining technologies and
integration
Laser welding
Friction stir welding (FSW)
Mechanical joining
Resistance spot welding (RSW)
Co-extrusion
Mechanical fasteners
33
35
36
36
37
37
38
14
14
14
16
16
16
17
18
20
6
6.1
6.2
6.2.1
6.2.2
6.2.3
6.2.4
6.3
6.3.1
6.3.2
6.3.3
6.3.4
21
6.4
21
23
Magnesium surface treatments 40

Mission objectives
41
(surface treatments)
NANOMAG
41
PAPVD
43
PECVD
43
Sol-gel
43
Keronite (PEO)
43
Highlights
44
Industrial perspective
44
Academic and RTO perspective 45
Perceived technical/economic
47
barriers
Current and future research
47
priorities
Conclusions
48
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Potential future applications

and techno-economic issues
Introduction
Magnesium supply and demand
in western Europe
Magnesium supply
Magnesium demand in western
Europe
Magnesium demand in the UK
Wrought alloys
Automotive applications
Powertrain
Structural castings
Other castings
Wrought applications
Beyond automotive applications
Conclusions
49
R&D funding and

infrastructure
EU research projects
Additional projects
Summary and
recommendations
55
Industry perceptions and

training and education
61
10
10.1
10.2
General conclusions
Research
Industry misconceptions
62
62
62
11
Key findings
63
12
Recommendations and
follow-up actions
64
7.1
7.2
7.2.1
7.2.2
7.2.3
7.3
7.4
7.4.1
7.4.2
7.4.3
7.4.4
7.4.5
7.5
8
8.1
8.2
8.3
A
B
C
D
Appendices
Host organisation profiles
Mission team details
List of exhibits
Glossary
49
49
49
50
51
51
51
51
52
52
52
52
54
The mission team would like to extend their

deepest thanks to the host organisations for
their hospitality, openness and support,
without which the mission and this report
would not have been possible.
We would also like to acknowledge the
support of the DTI Global Watch Service in
both the organisation and funding of the
mission and its dissemination through the
seminar event. The team would also like to
thank numerous individuals at the DTI, their
agents and also the various consulates for
work behind the scenes.
A large thanks is also owed to Frank Rott,
Martin Kemp, Craig Wallbank and Charlotte
Leiper of the DTI Global Watch Service for
their support to the success of this mission.
55
58
59
65
69
75
77
3
FOREWORD
The new millennium has seen major growth

in the use of magnesium alloys as structural
materials in automotive and other applications.
Spearheaded by the developments of
corrosion-resistant alloys and improvements
in high-pressure die-casting (HPDC)
technologies, automotive applications in
Europe have shown double-digit growth for
the last 10 years.
The forefront for this growth has been the
German automotive industry, led by the
VW Passat gearbox first produced in 1996.
The developments are continuing with the
revolutionary 6-cylinder magnesium engine
block from BMW launched in 2004 and
the new DaimlerChrysler 7-speed
gearbox housing.
In addition to the automotive sector,
the new developments in magnesium
technology are having a major impact on
areas as diverse as sports goods,
aerospace and even biomedical prostheses.
The MAG TECH 1 mission has highlighted
the extensive research and development
(R&D) being carried out by European
universities and research bodies, with major
support funding from national governments
and the European Union. The mission has
clearly shown that although the United
Kingdom has some world-class players in
magnesium technology, it is liable to fall
behind Europe if steps are not taken to
support R&D within both the UKs academic
system and industrial base.
It is clear from the report that magnesium

alloys are no longer viewed as niche or
exotic materials in Europe. In order for
UK manufacturing to compete on
lightweighting, recyclability and functionality,
designers need to be aware of the exciting
opportunities magnesium alloys present as a
real economic alternative to steel, aluminium
and plastic for todays lightweight products.
Chris Dagger
Divisional Managing
Director
Magnesium Elektron Ltd
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Magnesium is now becoming the material

of choice for many lightweight transport
component applications, demonstrated by
continued, steady market growth. In the
alloyed form, magnesium is the lightest
structural metal, thereby providing
considerable opportunity to improve fuel
economy and reduce harmful emissions
produced in powering transport when
substituted for a heavier aluminium or
steel design.
The purpose of this DTI Global Watch
Mission, coordinated by Faraday Advance,
was to evaluate the European state-of-the-art
in terms of magnesium alloys and
technologies for improved component
manufacture and in-service performance.
It is understood that considerable research
and development (R&D) activities involving
magnesium have taken and continue to
take place in Europe, outside the UK. Much
of this R&D has been heavily funded through
the European Commission (EC) and through
national programmes.
The report provides an overview of the

mission, which encompassed technical
discussions, reviews and observations from
meetings held with key European
organisations involved in the research,
development and application of magnesium.
The aim of this mission was to capture a
broad insight into the general trends and
issues associated with magnesium
technology and to identify key opportunities
for the UK to improve its competitiveness in
this field in the form of key findings and
recommendations. During the visit, a wealth
of information and material was gathered
from the organisations and experts visited,
providing a valuable source for university
researchers, small or medium enterprises
(SMEs), industrial producers, users and
technology providers. This material is captured
in this report.
This mission, which took place during 27

September 1 October 2004, focused on
identifying essential information, including:
future trends and technology drivers
technology barriers
enabling technologies or developments
required to move towards greater levels of
magnesium deployment in the
manufacture of automotive products
INTRODUCTION
In the manufacture of transport, weight

reduction through the use of lightweight
materials remains a very successful and
simple means of improving fuel economy
and reducing harmful emissions. High-purity
magnesium alloys are now sophisticated
materials that provide significant
opportunities for weight reduction and
therefore real scope to achieve these
environmental goals.
Increases in magnesium alloys for
automotive applications have driven the
substantial increase in magnesium world
demand; in particular, magnesium alloys for
making die-cast components. According to
Australian Magnesium Corp Ltd (AMC),
die-cast magnesium automotive components
account for ~150,000 t/y of magnesium
alloys1 and dominate the application of
magnesium die-castings. This substantial and
sustained increase in magnesium
consumption has led to significant changes
in the magnesium manufacturing industry
and has encouraged suppliers to develop
their processes and alloys and identify
potential future applications of magnesium
for both cast and wrought products.
According to the International Magnesium
Association (IMA), world consumption of
magnesium has seen a 30% increase over
the last eight years, and has been forecast
to continue to grow at a rate of 3% annually.
This has encouraged primary metal
producers to invest in new capital
equipment and plant to meet the sustained
growth in demand. In 1999, world
magnesium consumption was some
320,000 t, with expectations that it may rise
to some 500,000 t by 2005.
The key interest in magnesium for

structural and non-structural component
applications is in its potential for weight
reduction. In the alloyed form, magnesium
is the lightest of all the structural metals
and can provide a host of additional
component benefits depending upon
product form.
It is also important to note the impact that
other industry sectors may have in
developing and increasing the demand for
magnesium components, which will
contribute to lowering magnesium alloy
prices and improving product performance.
The potential of magnesium to the UK
economy and automotive manufacturing
alone is quite staggering. The UK produces
some 1.8 million passenger vehicles per
annum, with a considerable number of
these typically ~50% becoming export
products. The introduction of more
magnesium components that are produced
in the UK would therefore appear to provide
a significant opportunity for the UK to meet
future emissions targets, whilst reserving
natural resources and enhancing the
competitiveness of the UK.
1.1
Background to mission
Outside the UK, there has been significant

research activity in the field of magnesium
alloys and technologies for automotive
applications. The research is being
conducted to address the barriers to
greater levels of magnesium deployment.
The principal countries involved in the
technical visits included:
1 Magnesium Automotive Potential, Australian Magnesium Corp Ltd Fact Sheet 11, December 2000, ABN 51 010 441 666:
www.austmg.com/documents/11_Auto%20Potentail.pdf
Germany centre for large magnesium

R&D network of institutes,
magnesium component producers and
vehicle manufacturers
Austria through the Austrian Research
Centres (ARC)
Italy home to the largest European
magnesium die-casting facility (Meridian
Magnesium Products of Italy srl MPI)
and a major user of magnesium products
(Fiat)
These countries were identified as having a

significant impetus on magnesium
developments through internal company
R&D and involvement in government-funded
or EU research programmes. From these
countries, key organisations were identified
to hold bilateral technical discussions relating
to the developments and trends in
magnesium alloy and technology and its
usage in product applications.
OBJECTIVES OF MISSION
High-purity magnesium alloys are now

sophisticated materials that provide
opportunities for significant weight reduction
of components and therefore real scope to
deliver against the environmental drivers,
particularly emissions.
The high-level aim of this mission was to
evaluate the state-of-the-art in magnesium
alloys and technologies for improved
component manufacture and in-service
performance for the automotive industry.
The mission was focused on identifying key
information on the future trends and drivers,
technology barriers and the enabling
technologies or developments required to
move towards greater levels of magnesium
deployment in the manufacture of
automotive products.
It is strongly believed that the mission will
in the medium term provide a suitable
vehicle to promote the initiation of
appropriate R&D projects or programmes in
the UK and in the longer term result in
the increased deployment of magnesium
components displaying higher levels of UK
technology in the automotive supply chain
with good opportunities to transfer this
technology into other sectors.
2.1
Specific objectives
Specific objectives of the mission were to:

Discuss issues relating to the design,
alloy selection, manufacturing technique,
coating and finishing of magnesium
components
Identify and discuss technology barriers and

key enabling technologies necessary to
move towards greater levels of exploitation,
in terms of both cast and wrought
magnesium component applications
Engage in specific technical evaluations
and discussions regarding key applied
research and envisaged future trends
Understand national market perceptions
and trends for magnesium usage
Discuss national, EC-funded and
commercial research programmes, and
identify any synergies with the UK and
opportunities for collaboration
Explore bilateral secondment
opportunities between UK organisations
and hosts
2.2
Benefit to the UK
The dissemination of this information to UK

companies, research organisations and
funding agencies will enable them to identify
technology gaps, and focus development
programmes, with the potential to transfer
the knowledge and information to different
industry sectors.
2.3
The mission
The mission took place during

27 September 1 October 2004, visiting
the many organisations identified as centres
of excellence in the R&D or manufacture of
magnesium-related products or
components. The mission team had the
opportunity to discuss and present R&D
work in the field of magnesium alloys and
technology during visits to the following
host organisations:
ARC LKR, Ranshofen (Austria)

BMW, Munich (Germany)
RWTH, Aachen (Germany)
GKSS, Geesthacht (Germany)
IFAM, Bremen (Germany)
MPI, Verres (Italy)
During the visit at RWTH Aachen, the meeting

was jointly attended by Ford Research Centre;
and at GKSS, by Salzgitter MagnesiumTechnologie GmbH (SZMT). IFAM staged a
networking event attended by Oskar Frech
GmbH + Co KG (producer of die-casting
equipment), HDO (manufacturer of
magnesium die-castings) and Hannover
University, providing a unique opportunity to
present and discuss developments in Europe
and the UK. This format provided an excellent
means by which the mission team could meet
several organisations that would otherwise
have been logistically impossible. Details of
the mission hosts are available in Appendix A.
At the visit to MPI, CRF also attended.
Whilst the mission team met with the major

organisations mentioned above, these
represent only a small proportion of the
total magnesium research and production
efforts in Europe, outside the UK. However,
the selection of organisations provided a
very strong illustration of the breadth and
depth of the research activity and
development trends.
2.4
The mission team
A select number of individuals were chosen

as mission delegates, representing the UK
(see Exhibit 2.1). A key factor in the
selection was involvement in the supply
chain or potential supply chain, which would
be a critical factor in the success of followup activities. Individuals were selected from
a mixture of backgrounds to provide a wellbalanced team in order to achieve the
greatest contribution. Details of the mission
team are available in Appendix B.
Exhibit 2.1 Mission team at BMW (FIZ), Munich
NOVEL CASTING TECHNOLOGIES
Currently, the majority of components that

are made from magnesium alloys are
produced using conventional hot-chamber
and cold-chamber forms of high-pressure
die-casting (HPDC) processes, creating
parts that may have very complex
geometries, exhibiting multifunctional
designs. Structural HPDC parts are
manufactured using the cold-chamber
process (see Exhibit 3.1), as this is better
suited to achieving larger components whilst
still retaining the necessary mechanical
properties for these applications.
A recent, major achievement in Europe in
HPDC is the series production of the
magnesium composite crankcase
manufactured by BMW in Germany. The
crankcase is manufactured from a highpressure die-casting of AJ62 magnesium
alloy, and incorporates an aluminium alloy
Die
(AlSi17) low-pressure die-casting (LDPC) for

the cylinder linings. Through this technology,
BMW is able to achieve lightest 6-cylinder
engine in its class, weighing a mere 161 kg.
Die-casting is an exceptionally efficient
means of producing magnesium
components but it does have some
limitations due to the aggressive nature of
the process, which induces high levels of
turbulence at high velocity during metal
injection, resulting from the high pressure.
This high level of turbulence combined with
entrapped air results in porosity, which is
detrimental to the key mechanical properties
of tensile strength and elongation. The
entrapped porosity will also impact upon
other key performance attributes necessary
for automotive applications, including
durability and pressure tightness.
Hydraulic press
Shot sleeve
Molten shot
Die cavity
Exhibit 3.1 HPDC cold-chamber process
10
Ram
The current applications of magnesium in

the automotive industry are predominantly
produced using the HPDC process.
However, HPDC components are currently
limited to functional and secondary structural
applications rather than primary structural
applications. Further increase in magnesium
applications requires the development of
novel casting technologies.
Objectives of the mission included:
Assess the current status of the
development of magnesium casting
technologies
Assess the current UK status in the
European context
Make recommendation for future
development in the UK
New casting technologies for use with
magnesium alloys have been constantly
pursued in R&D. The main driver and focus
of process and alloy development has been
to achieve improved mechanical
performance, in terms of tensile strength,
elongation and pressure tightness which can
be achieved with lower or zero levels of
porosity. In doing so, the improved
mechanical performance provides the
opportunity for components to feature in
new applications.
The current applications of magnesium in the
automotive industry constitute almost 100%
cast components without any significant
contribution from the wrought products.
The majority of the cast components are
achieved by the HPDC process, which can be
pressure die-cast using either the hotchamber or cold-chamber process, as
illustrated schematically in Exhibit 3.1.
The hot-chamber process is suitable for

comparatively small and thin-walled
components, and higher volume outputs,
whilst the cold-chamber process is for large
and thick-walled components.
The HPDC process is characterised by high
volume, high efficiency, and low production
cost. However, the quality of components
manufactured by the HPDC process is
limited by the presence of a substantial
amount of porosity, which not only excludes
the application of HPDC components in
high-safety and airtight systems, but also
denies the opportunity for further property
enhancement by heat treatment. It is clear
that further increase in magnesium
application in the transport industry will
require a major advance in processing
technologies. The new processes need to be
capable of producing components of high
integrity and improved performance while
being comparable with the HPDC process in
terms of production cost and efficiency.
Porosity due to turbulent mould filling could
be reduced or even eliminated if the
viscosity of the melt could be increased to
reduce the Reynolds number sufficiently so
that trapped air is minimised. This is the
concept of semi-solid metal (SSM)
processing. Depending on the way the
semi-solid slurry is achieved, SSM
processing techniques can be divided into
two categories:
Thixo
Rheo
11
In the thixocasting process, nondendritic

alloys preprocessed usually by
electromagnetic stirring are reheated to the
semi-solid region prior to casting by the
HPDC process. As a processing technique,
thixocasting does improve component
integrity and performance, but proves to be
cost intensive, lacking in flexibility, and
difficult to scale-up. After 30 years of
extensive R&D, thixocasting is currently
experiencing a decline in acceptance as a
viable production technology.
Another SSM process under R&D in Europe
is thixomoulding (eg at GKSS and RWTH
Aachen), which was originally developed by
Dow Chemicals and is currently marketed
by Thixomat Inc in the USA. In the
thixomoulding process, magnesium chips
are fed into a single-screw injectionmoulding machine and converted into semisolid slurry which is then injection-moulded
into components, somewhat similar to
injection moulding of polymeric materials.
The thixomoulding process is currently
experiencing some degree of success,
particularly in Asia, for casing applications in
the electronics industry. However, this
process is much less popular in Europe, and
only a few machines are available in
research laboratories.
The general understanding is that

rheocasting has many advantages over
thixocasting due to lower production cost,
better component quality and ease of
scaling up. In the rheocasting process, semisolid slurry is produced by controlled cooling
of a liquid alloy into its semi-solid region,
prior to shaping into components.
3.1
LKR new rheocasting

(NRC) process
The currently most popular rheocasting

process in Europe is the so-called new
rheocasting (NRC) process, as schematically
illustrated in Exhibit 3.2. In the NRC process,
a given dose of liquid alloy with low
superheat is poured into a steel cup for a
controlled cooling into the semi-solid region
and followed by a short period of induction
heating before component production by a
squeeze or die-casting process.
The NRC process is currently under
intensive R&D in both LKR in Austria and
Centro Ricerche Fiat (CRF) in Italy and is
supported by the EU FP6 research
programme RHEOLIGHT. Compared with
thixocasting, the NRC process is a lower
cost process due to the use of liquid alloy as
the feedstock, enabling a greater degree of
process control.
Pouring of melt
Induction heating
Air cooling
Solidification nuclei
Controlled cooling, solidification and growth of nuclei
Die casting or squeeze casting

Exhibit 3.2 New rheocasting (NRC) process
12
Exhibit 3.3 Mission team at the Foundry Institute, RWTH Aachen
Although the NRC process remains at

laboratory scale, trials have shown strong
indications that economically it would
achieve component production with no
material on-cost, similar cycle times and
therefore similar part costs to those
produced by HPDC. However, it is envisaged
that the NRC process will involve slightly
higher capital equipment investment.
LKR was of the opinion that the NRC
process it has been investigating displays
excellent opportunity for new markets due
to its high strength. The NRC process will
be evaluated in the EUs RHEOLIGHT
research programme.
Other rheocasting processes under R&D
include the rheo-container process (RCP)
developed by the Foundry Institute at
Aachen University of Technology (RWTH
Aachen), and the cooling slope process
originally developed in Japan also under
investigation by the Foundry Institute.
Both these processes still remain at the
laboratory stage.
The mission team had a tour of RWTH

Aachens impressive foundry facilities (see
Exhibit 3.3), including a quick review of the
equipment and practical research, of which a
significant level was for company sponsors.
3.2
RWTH Aachen rheo-container

process (RCP)
Due to the issues and limitations of

thixomoulding and thixocasting, and in order
to minimise the complexity of the
rheocasting process, RWTH Aachen has
been investigating a new rheocasting
concept the so-called rheo-container
process (RCP) that involves a melt being
poured into a container under protective gas
cover. The melt is poured at a temperature
as close to the liquidus as possible to avoid
rapid rates of cooling. After a satisfactory
temperature is reached, the semi-solid slurry
is inserted into a conventional HPDC shot
sleeve and finally formed (see Exhibit 3.4).
RWTH Aachen claimed that the RCP will be
more reproducible. However, there appear to
be issues in transferring the slurry into the
13
Pouring of melt
Protective cover gas
Ceramic container
Semi-solid slurry
TMELT ~ T LIQUIDUS
Controlled cooling, solidification

and growth of nuclei
Solidification nuclei
Die casting or squeeze casting

Exhibit 3.4 Rheo-container process (RCP)
shot sleeve. The transfer is likely to cause

cooling and be detrimental to the slurry in
terms of its homogeneity, and uniform
distribution of fine solidification nuclei.
Cooling on transfer will result in a coarse
grain size and a greater level of nonuniformity. This will translate into potential
porosity, and inferior mechanical properties.
The solution currently does not appear to
have been developed.
3.3
RWTH Aachen rheocasting

using cooling channel
RWTH Aachen has carried out some fairly

rudimentary trials to generate the required
conditions for rheocasting, which has been
achieved by pouring a melt into a ceramic
cooling channel and subsequently into a
container to develop a semi-solid slurry
(see Exhibit 3.5).
Whilst the apparatus used for these research
trials was relatively crude, it demonstrated
that rheocasting conditions could be achieved,
but using such a method for volume
production would create difficulties in
14
delivering reproducible results. The spherical

or globular grain morphology achieved using
the cooling channel is illustrated in Exhibit 3.6.
3.4
RWTH Aachen thixomoulding

of magnesium
Whilst thixomoulding of magnesium

components is an expensive means of
producing large components, trials at RWTH
Aachen into alloy mixing have established
that it was possible to improve upon creep
properties through selective mixtures, and
therefore tailor the degree of alloy mixing to
achieve the required properties.
3.5
RWTH Aachen thixocasting

of magnesium
The outline process for thixocasting is

illustrated schematically in Exhibit 3.7.
200 m
Exhibit 3.6 Cooling channel rheocasting grain

morphology
Exhibit 3.5 Rheocasting using cooling channel
Smelting
Cooling
Billet cutting
Billet reheating
Ram
Exhibit 3.7 Thixocasting process
15
3.6
Exhibit 3.8 Thixocasting facility at the Foundry Institute
The Foundry Institute has been active in

trials with the thixocasting process;
however, the process is currently
uneconomic due to the control required for
the heating and homogenisation of the
thixocasting feedstock material. The Foundry
Institutes thixocasting machine is shown in
Exhibit 3.8.
Aside of SSM processing technologies, other
casting technologies for magnesium alloys
have been heavily researched in Europe.
These include low-pressure die-casting
(LPDC) for magnesium-alloy wheels, squeeze
casting for transmission mounting, and sand
casting for engine support as featured in the
FP6 MG-CHASSIS programme coordinated by
Fraunhofer IFAM in Germany. Other casting
processes under development include
magnesium upcasting to replace the current
continuous direct-chill (DC) casting process
(Hannover University), investment casting
(Aachen) and magnesium foaming process
(Hannover, Aachen and IFAM). An interesting
application of magnesium castings and foams
is for medical applications where it may
potentially find application for absorbable
implants for the repair of bone fractures
(Hannover University). Aachen was
researching cellular type structural casting,
displaying similarities to bone structure,
produced by investment casting.
These could find application in bio-medics,
but also potentially in structural applications
where more-efficient natural structures
replace man-made designs.
16
RWTH Aachen investment

casting of magnesium
Due to reactions with conventional silicon

dioxide (SiO2) shell systems, RWTH Aachen
had been researching organic binder
systems. So far, the initial trials had been
successful, with the binder demonstrating
good temperature resistance and gas
permeability combined with resistance to
reactivity with the melt. The investment
casting route for magnesium alloys appears
to show promise for high- and low-volume
components in the absence of high capitalinvestment costs but where demanding,
complex geometries were desired.
Limitations of course remain, including the
absence of intricate coring methods
available with other techniques. Other
research undertaken at the Foundry Institute
includes infiltration of metal foams, which
may be produced by inserting the foam into
the die cavity and then filling the holes by
means of infiltrating with semi-solid slurry or
otherwise, thereby producing very complex
hybrid composite metallic materials (see
Exhibit 3.9).
3.7
Gravity casting
Gravity casting provides a very good

means of producing many complex castings
that are demanding in terms of both
performance and weight. This method
also provides a low-investment route for
single-piece or small-lot production that is
ideal for many aerospace castings.
3.8
Sand casting
GKSS has been investigating issues with

sand casting, particularly the issue of melt
oxidation or of its alloying elements.
A range of casting alloys has been
investigated, including AM100, AZ91,
AZ81, AZ61, AZ63 and rare-earth alloys.
The solutions to reduce moisture and
atmospheric reactions include:
Exhibit 3.9 Magnesium-MMC infiltrated foam
Sulphur and boron acid

Ammonia salt and silicofluoride
Boron hydrogen acid and its salt solutions
Diethylene glycol
Beryllium
3.9
BCAST rheo-diecasting
(RDC) process
Putting the UK into the context of European

development of novel magnesium casting
technologies, we find that the UK strength
lies at the heart of technological innovation.
In recent years, the Brunel Centre for
Advanced Solidification Technology (BCAST)
at Brunel University has developed a novel
semi-solid casting process, rheo-diecasting
(RDC), Exhibit 3.10. The RDC process is an
innovative one-step SSM processing
technique to manufacture near-net-shape
components of high integrity directly from
liquid alloys. The process innovatively adapts
the well-established high-shear dispersive
mixing action of the twin-screw extruder to

the task of in-situ creation of SSM slurry
with fine and spherical solid particles,
followed by direct shaping of the SSM slurry
into a near-net-shape component using the
existing cold-chamber die-casting process.
The RDC equipment consists of three basic
functional units: a twin-screw slurry maker, a
standard cold-chamber HPDC machine and a
central control unit. The twin-screw slurry
maker has a pair of co-rotating, fully
intermeshing and self-wiping screws rotating
inside a barrel. The screws have specially
designed profiles to achieve high shear rate
and high intensity of turbulence. During the
RDC process, a predetermined dose of liquid
alloy from the melting furnace is fed into the
slurry maker. The liquid alloy is rapidly cooled
to the SSM processing temperature while
being mechanically sheared by the screws,
converting the liquid alloy into semi-solid
slurry, with fine and spherical particles of a
17
Twin-screw extruder
Inlet
High-speed
injection unit
Heated shot
sleeve
Exhibit 3.10 Rheo-diecasting (RDC) process
given volume fraction dictated by the barrel

temperature. The semi-solid slurry is then
transferred to the shot chamber of the HPDC
machine for component shaping. After six
years intensive R&D, the RDC process is
now ready for industrial exploitation,
supported by the DTI Technology Programme.
The main advantages of the RDC process
over the conventional HPDC process can be
summarised as follows:
Fine and uniform microstructure
throughout the entire component
Close-to-zero porosity (well below
0.5 vol%), thus fully heat-treatable
Well-dispersed oxide particles with fine
size and spherical morphology
Much improved mechanical properties,
particularly ductility
Capable of processing wrought alloys and
other alloys difficult to cast
Longer die life, lower scrap rate, shorter
cycle time and higher materials yield
Lower overall component production cost
Weldable
18
Compared with other SSM processing

techniques, the RDC process is characterised
by high and consistent component quality,
large processing window, versatile to alloy
compositions, and low overall production
cost. It is anticipated that the RDC process
will become a major production technology
for light metal components.
3.10
A number of magnesium alloy systems have

been developed for different forms of
casting to maximise both castability and inservice performance. Four key alloy systems
are available for die-casting, and the outline
advantages and disadvantages of these are
shown in Exhibit 3.11. Particular performance
requirements include improved creep
resistance, improved ductility, and improved
specific strength, and some of the
associated alloys developed are shown in
Exhibit 3.12.
ASTM alloy designation
AZ
AM
AS
AE
Key alloying elements
Al, Zn
Al
Al, Si
rare earth
Advantages
Good strength
Improved ductility
Improved strength
Good high-temperature
at room
over AZ series
and creep
strength and creep
Disadvantages
temperature
performance due to resistance due to
Good castability
Mg2Si precipitates
Mg-RE precipitates
Limited castability
Limited castability
Low thermal
Limited room
strength
temperature
Low ductility
properties
Limited castability
Exhibit 3.11 ASTM magnesium die-casting alloy systems and relative performance
Over the last 10 years there has been

significant R&D for various HPDC alloys, and
the evidence of this is demonstrated by the
number of alloy/alloy-modification patents
filed. The time lapse between patenting an
alloy to commercial application can be some
8-10 years or even more. Therefore, many of

the alloys patented over the last decade
may find themselves in commercial
application over the coming years, and many
of these are being evaluated in EU applied
research programmes.
Alloy development
Creep resistance
(monolithic)
Specific strength
Light, high strength
Ductility
Mg-Sc-X-Y
(>300C)
Spray forming
TMT, MgLi
Mg-Y-RE- Zr
WE54 WE43
(200-300C)
Mg-Li-X
Mg-Si
Mg-Al-Ca(-RE)
Mg-Si
Mg-Al-Ca (-RE)
Mg-Li-X
Mg-Zn-Cu
Mg-Al-Ca-X
Mg-RE-Zn-Mn
(max 200C)
Mg-Al-Mn
Magnesium
GRAVITY
WROUGHT
Mg-Al-Si
AS 21
(max 150C)
Mg-Al-Zn
AM60 AZ91
(max 135C)
HPDC
Mg-Ag-RE-Zr
QE22 EQ21
(max 200-250C)
Mg-Al-RE
AE42
(max 175C)
Mg-Al-Zn
KEY
Creep resistance
Fibre and hybrid
reinforced Mg-alloys
(heterogeneous)
CTE
E-modulus
Creep
Exhibit 3.12 Performance drivers for magnesium alloy development
19
3.11
High-pressure die-casting alloys

and key development drivers
Initial magnesium high-pressure die-castings

have found themselves in relatively benign
applications where weight reduction was the
major factor. Following these, applications
which involved increased levels of
functionality were taken up. Subsequently,
components that made considerable use of
the load-bearing capability of magnesium
alloys have been fielded.
A significant area for potential future growth
of magnesium high-pressure die-castings is
in powertrain and new drivetrain applications,
the latter particularly in higher operating
temperature automatic transmissions,
following a degree of saturation in the
application of structural castings. New
applications are heavily dependent upon the
development of new and improved alloys,
and this is particularly true of the structural
castings, which are now dominantly
produced from the AM series alloys, which
display greater levels of elongation than
AZ91. In terms of powertrain and automatic
transmission housing applications, the
operating temperature has been the greatest
barrier to growth. The reason for this has
been the creep behaviour of common
magnesium alloys.
The common magnesium alloys display
inferior creep load characteristics in
comparison with aluminium alloy
counterparts. Above ~100C, the common
magnesium alloy AZ91 begins to lose its
strength, which has eliminated magnesium
from these types of application to date as
no economical alloy provided adequate
creep performance. More importantly,
AZ91D displays particularly high levels of
creep strain under load. The major issue for
creep deformation is a reduction in the
clamping load of the bolts for a
transmission housing, which if relaxed
allows transmission fluid to escape.
20
The highly creep-resistant rare-earth alloy

systems, such as WE42 that had been
specially developed, remain too expensive for
the automotive market. Thus extensive
international research efforts have set about
establishing lower-cost, creep-resistant alloys
displaying suitable castability, in terms of
both good die-filling characteristics and the
absence of hot cracking. Generally, the most
creep-resistant rare-earth alloys display
poorer castability, and are therefore less
acceptable for high-volume series production.
In close cooperation, Volkswagen (VW) and
the Magnesium Research Institute (MRI)
have developed two castable creep-resistant
alloys, MRI-153M and MRI-230D. These
alloys possess great potential for lightweight,
high-performance transmission housings and
crankcases as they possess good residual
strength at temperature combined with low
creep-strain.
A major recent introduction in the field of
automatic drivetrain applications is the
Mercedes-Benz 7G-Tronic, 7-speed
automatic transmission housing. The diecasting makes use of a magnesium alloy
based upon the AS31 (Al-Si) system.
The major challenges for powertrain
components still remain in developing
capabilities for crankcases. In these
applications, the issue is not only one of
creep resistance but also one of stiffness,
and magnesiums lower modulus also
creates additional challenges to overcome.
However, development trials have taken
place, and Australian Magnesium Corp Ltd
(AMC) and its partners have developed and
patented a new creep-resistant alloy AMCSC1 which has been specifically designed
for the production of lightweight engine
blocks using sand-casting technology.
The alloy has already been used to build a
prototype 3-cylinder engine for a VW Lupo,
weighing just 14 kg 25% lighter than the
current aluminium production version. AVL
designed the new magnesium engine,
which catered for its different mechanical

and acoustic properties. Further to this,
BMW Group has now put into production
magnesium HPDC crankcases in its V6
engines, which make use of aluminium
cylinder linings. This application is a world
first on the basis of a water-cooled highperformance engine. The actual cooling is
restricted to the aluminium cylinder liners.
The BMW HPDC magnesium crankcase
uses the Noranda-developed AJ62 alloy.
Similar developments are expected.
Magnesium Elektron in the UK has been
heavily involved in alloy development,
particularly with Manchester University,
and also supplies the AJ62 alloy to BMW
for the magnesium crankcase.
3.12
Gravity casting
alloy development
Whilst there has been significant impetus to

develop alloys for die-casting, gravity casting
has assisted in providing the foundation on
which more recent creep-resistant alloys
have been developed. High-performance
magnesium gravity castings for aerospace
applications see much greater operational
temperatures and have driven the
development of automotive creep-resistant
alloys. The success of the rare-earth alloys is
largely owed to the complex precipitates
CO2- snow laboratory furnace
that form, inhibiting creep deformation.

The success of these alloys for these
applications is also attributable to the casting
process, that is more tolerant to defects,
namely entrapped porosity.
3.13
Other casting
technology research
In addition to the development of magnesium

alloys and new casting technologies for
components, new environmentally friendly
production methods and means of
improving billet and ingot have been sought
and researched.
A major issue that faces magnesium foundries
is the requirement to change to more
environmentally friendly and inert systems to
protect the magnesium melt. Consequently,
there has been much focus on using CO2 or
other systems, as opposed to SF6 and SO2.
However, improvements in the gases not only
requires just a simple change in the cover gas
medium used, but also requires development
in how it is administered. In particular, cooling
down the melt surface to avoid evaporation,
and also controlling the displacement of
oxygen by means of a CO2 snow shower
(see Exhibit 3.13). Other means of melt
protection under investigation include the use
of a layer of steel balls covering the top of a
magnesium melt.
Covering of molten magnesium with

CO2-snow
Exhibit 3.13 CO2-snow magnesium melt cover gas development
21
Discharge direction
Solidified magnesium
Mould
Liquid magnesium
Exhibit 3.14 Magnesium up-caster used in EUROMAGUPCASTER
Exhibit 3.15 Magnesium foam production by low-pressure die-casting (LPDC)
22
New methods for improving component

quality through improved alloy casting have
been investigated, including twin-roll casting
for sheet and up-casting of billet. The upcasting of magnesium is being conducted as
part of the EU programme called
EUROMAGUPCASTER, the aims of which
are to obtain improvements over the vertical
downward casting (VDC) method, including:
No risk of MMW (molten-metal-water)
and H2 explosions in secondary
cooling zone
No contact of molten magnesium
to atmosphere
No protection gas needed for
casting process
Self-regulating: melt-level control in the
mould is not required
Billet surface free of cracks and
other defects
Easy installation
Initially, this project included developments
to engineer a prototype to produce 90-mm
billets at Hannover Universitys IW (Institut
fr Werkstoffkunde), and subsequently two
pilot devices for 90-mm and 203-mm billets.
During the EU project it was planned that
processing conditions for the following alloys
would be developed:
AZ31
AZ61
AZ80
AZ91
ZK60
WE43
The basics of this technology are obvious,

in that the material is cast in the upward
direction (see Exhibit 3.14). Other key
elements of the research scope included in
the EUROMAGUPCASTER project include the
investigation of costs for industrial usage and
evaluation of wear on the moulding system,
which is a critical factor in maintaining
consistency in the process and also costs.
Germany is a world leader in the

development of metal foams, and is actively
pursuing improvements in the technology,
performance and potential application.
The aim is to improve the production
efficiency and costs associated with the
manufacture of magnesium foams,
particularly as the current means of foam
production are too expensive for volume
production. Therefore, Hannover has been
investigating the use of low-pressure diecasting (LPDC), which may significantly
reduce the costs and also repeatability
of metal foams (see Exhibit 3.15). Metal
foams may have significant capability in
energy-absorbing crash-relevant structures.
Such improvements in cost may therefore
lead to introduction in automotive
applications. Additionally, it should be noted
that IFAM have recently acquired an HPDC
facility from Oscar Frech GmbH, and are
proactively exerting effort to create a
well-equipped foundry research centre
covering all aspects of casting, from sand to
high-pressure techniques.
In terms of UK activity, in addition to RDC
technology, the UK is also pioneering the
investment casting of magnesium alloys,
with this research being conducted at
Castings Technology International (CTI).
However, the funding for casting R&D in the
UK is considerably smaller than that made
available in Germany, which is reflected in
the degree of activity in this field.
3.14
Summary
The general finding from the mission is that

in the future there will be a continuous
increase in applications of cast magnesium
components in the automotive industry and
other industrial sectors, such as
electronics, healthcare, and sports and
leisure. Such applications were heavily
supported by both alloy and process
developments to encourage growth for the
magnesium industry.
23
In Europe, research into novel casting

technologies is well supported and well
coordinated, using both internal governmentfunded and EC framework programmes,
such as MG-CHASSIS, RHEOLIGHT and MGENGINE. The drive for most of these has
been the realisation of component or
system performance improvements. These
programmes constructively take the casting
technology through to the evaluation of
demonstrator components and applications,
linking state-of-the-art alloys. Consequently,
there is an abundance of technologies and
development alloys, enabling early market
entry of a number of exciting highperformance products. The UK has very little
participation in such programmes, and the
application of magnesium technology
reflects this.
The general understanding is that
rheocasting processes have some major
advantages over thixocasting and
thixomoulding processes in terms of
production cost, component quality,
production control, and flexibility.
24
The rheo-diecasting (RDC) process

developed in the UK does have advantages
over the other casting technologies under
development in Europe, such as high and
consistent component quality, large
processing window, versatile to alloy
compositions, and low overall production
cost; and with technology that appears to be
suitable to scale-up.
R&D on magnesium alloy casting is
considerably underfunded in the UK,
particularly when compared to the activities
in Germany. There is great need for a
coordinated magnesium flagship project to
realise the full potential of the UK for
casting technology innovation and to
increase the critical mass for participation in
the EU programme.
DEVELOPMENTS IN PROCESSING AND MANUFACTURE

OF COMPONENTS FROM WROUGHT MAGNESIUM
Casting of magnesium is a very economic

process, particularly die-casting, and suitable
for mass-volume component production,
but even at low volumes it also provides
substantial opportunity to integrate one or
more parts together and produce with
complex geometries. However, due to
residual porosity, wrought magnesium
product forms often provide more favourable
mechanical properties in terms of strength
and elongation. There are four key forms of
wrought magnesium: magnesium sheet and
plate, extruded profile, or forged billet.
to the complexity of the components.

The body structure and closures contribute
~40% of the mass of a vehicle. The greatest
opportunity for wrought magnesium is in
replacing components within the primary
structure. However, opportunities for interior
trim and closures also exist.
As mentioned, semi-finished magnesium
products only account for some 1% of total
consumption of magnesium, which in turn
relates to limitations in supply availability.
4.1
Unlike magnesium castings, wrought

magnesium has historically received
considerably less R&D for component
applications, as it represents considerably
less market share in terms of total global
magnesium consumption, typically less
than 1-2%. Consequently, there are very
few commercially available alloys, with the
main alloy AZ31 dominating production.
Those alloys commercially available have
also not necessarily been developed with
specific product applications in mind.
Extrusion speed
For the automotive industry, the major

opportunities for wrought magnesium are in
body and chassis applications, and to a
considerably lesser extent powertrain, due
Formability
limits
Formability
Limits
Extruded magnesium profiles
Critical success factors in the growth of the

market for magnesium extrusions are the
development of new alloys, an optimised
billet casting process to produce an
improved starting product for extruding, and
lower extrusion costs. The greatest issue in
processing extruded magnesium is in the
exit speed with which it may be produced.
This in turn influences the price of the
semi-finished product, which to date has
been excessive. VW has indicated that to
increase the use of extruded magnesium in
vehicle manufacture, a target price of the
extruded product should be of the order of
5-8/kg in comparison with the current
price of 10-20/kg.
Exhibit 4.1
Process window for indirect
extrusion of AZ31
Hot
Hot
cracking
Cracking
Safe
Safe
processing
Processing
Billet Temperature
temperature
Billet
Hot cracking
25
Extrusion press
Billet
Die
Extruded profile
Ram
Seal
Hydrostatic medium
Seal
Exhibit 4.2 Hydrostatic extrusion process
The major factor in lowering the cost is

related to the extrusion speed. Currently,
the exit speed for magnesium AZ31 is
20-30 m/min. The extrusion speed is limited
by the onset of hot cracking and formability
(see Exhibit 4.1). Therefore, a major EU
research project, MAGNEXTRUSCO, was
initiated to engage the issue of extrusion
speed and also post-processed properties for
forming and in-service performance.
The research project was to investigate the
capability of the hydrostatic extrusion process
for magnesium alloys (see Exhibit 4.2) in
order to achieve greater extrusion speeds,
fundamentally necessary to improve the
process economics to compete with
aluminium alloys, which typically possess
extrusion speeds of some 50-100 m/min.
Hydrostatic extrusion speeds for magnesium
alloys of the order of 200 m/min are possible
but will also necessitate alloy development
to widen the safe processing window.
The key requirements here are to develop
extrusion billet material with greater levels
26
of grain refinement, typically 50-200 m,

and improved microstructural uniformity.
These are key factors that influence the
processing mechanics. In particular,
microstructural uniformity is particularly poor
in magnesium billet.
The type of extrusion process is particularly
important, as are the key process variables
of temperature, extrusion ratio and extrusion
speed. The aim in controlling these
parameters is to enable the highest
throughput possible whilst meeting the
required mechanical properties. This can only
be achieved by producing homogenous
microstructures that are stable to
recrystallisation dynamics during the
extrusion process. GKSS has been heavily
involved in the characterisation of the
microstructural and mechanical properties
and deformation mechanisms of the
extruded product. Much of this work has
been part of the MAGNEXTRUSCO
programme, but also in support of the
VW 1-litre lightweight concept car.
Original
AZ31-
AZ31
AZ31
AZ31
AW-6061
Substitution
Variant 1
Variant 2
hybrid
t (A1)
1.6 mm
1.6 mm
2.0 mm
1.8 mm
1.6 mm
t (A2)
1.6 mm
1.6 mm
2.0 mm
3.1 mm
1.6 mm
t (A2)
1.6 mm
1.6 mm
2.0 mm
1.6 mm
1.6 mm
E*1
100%
68%
82%
95%
>100%
-m
0%
35%
20%
15%
20%
Exhibit 4.3 LKR Take-Off project: magnesium PSU rail designs investigated
4.1.1
Take-Off (aerospace) project
LKR conducted a research study called

Take-Off, which investigated the opportunity
for substitution of a 1.6-mm thick 6XXX
series aluminium alloy extrusion with
magnesium AZ31 extrusion, whilst
maintaining equal stiffness and a weight
saving of 15%. The application in this case
was for passenger stowage unit (PSU) rails,
located underneath the stowage lockers
(see Exhibit 4.3).
During this investigation, LKR studied,
evaluated and refined the product design,
and performed finite element analysis (FEA)
of the extrusion process. This investigation
followed through to produce prototype
AZ31 extrusions, on which LKR performed
mechanical and microstructural
characterisations. It was demonstrated
that, through a new design concept,
both the weight and stiffness targets
could be achieved.
The orthotropic behaviour of magnesium

extruded profiles, which relates to the
twinning and texture, provided the main
challenges in the programme. However, with
the development of new alloy systems and
the hydrostatic extrusion process, it is
believe that there is significant scope to
accelerate the design process due to greater
levels of confidence in the material
properties and behaviour.
Following on from these investigations, LKR
has also been reviewing opportunities for a
1.0-mm thick PSU rail for the A380 Airbus.
In October 2004, LKR was embarking upon
a further programme to qualify the suitability
of magnesium components for aerospace
applications, in collaboration with other
regional light metals and aerospace
companies. The programme was called
InnMag and formed Phase 2 of Take-Off.
27
4.1.2
VW 1-litre car
The VW 1-litre car is so named because of

its fuel consumption rating of just 1 litre per
100 km (equivalent to 282 mpg). Stolfig, the
German design company contracted to
produce the car, engaged heavily in drawing
on the key competencies at LKR to assist in
the development of the magnesium
construction, in particular the joining.
Al-profile
Al-sheet
Mg-profile
Mg-sheet
could not be changed, and this purely related

to physics, ie that magnesium has a
hexagonally close-packed structure. Initial
trials using warm hydroforming indicated that
this technique could be used to reshape
magnesium profiles. Bending of tubular
magnesium profiles is achievable, and
heating during bending assists considerably.
The necessity to use heating for product
shaping creates a potential barrier and may
preclude shaped magnesium profiles from
some applications, particularly those in which
the cost outweighs performance needs.
The outcome of MAGNEXTRUSCO also
pointed toward preferred profile geometries
and applications, including:
Mg-casting + machined
MG-casting + part machined
CFK
Exhibit 4.4 VW 1-litre car, incorporating wrought and

cast magnesium
Whilst cost is the major issue for extrusions,

providing major technical and development
challenges, the other key issue with
extruded profiles and also sheet magnesium
relates to the inherent lack of formability of
magnesium alloys at ambient temperature.
This issue cascades particularly into
mechanical joining methods such as
clinching and self-pierce riveting (SPR) that
may be selected to join structures together,
especially hybrid structures consisting of
different materials.
4.1.3
Simple sections with limited cross section

Simple 2D and 3D shapes
Potential for non-structural and structural
applications (non-crash relevant parts)
The programme finds that the application of
magnesium extrusions should not contain
crash energy-absorbing components. The
reason relates to the materials crystal
structure, and lack of available slip systems
to achieve high degrees of deformation.
Despite this, there is significant scope for
other structural and non-structural
components manufactured from magnesium
extrusions. However, there is a preference
for producing components from simple
sections, in order to minimise associated
manufacturing costs.
Formability
4.2
In addition to issues relating to extrusion

speed, extruded profiles also require heat
treatment to assist in reshaping into the final
product form.
According to GKSS, the outcome from the
MAGNEXTRUSCO programme was positive,
in that the hydrostatic extrusion process
produced alloys under enhanced extrusion
speeds. However, much of the formability
28
Sheet magnesium
Currently, the availability of sheet magnesium

is very limited, with only a few pilot-size
plants. Many of these are not producing
products specifically for the automotive
market, much of the end use being for
electrolytic cells or precision machined parts.
Additionally, there are only a few available
alloys, and therefore a narrow selection of
strength and performance options.
Stress (MPa)
Salzgitter Magnesium-Technologie GmbH

(SZMT) presented a number of potential
market applications for sheet magnesium
and heavy plate, including:
AZ31-H24 RD
AZ31-H24 TD
AA6016-T4 RD
AA6016-T4 RD
Strain (%)
Exhibit 4.5 Anisotropy of magnesium sheet AZ31
To make matters worse, there is also very

little supply chain existence or capability to
produce the final components. Therefore,
GKSS seized the opportunity to be engaged
in a full process chain development
programme for magnesium sheet,
extending from alloy development to
applications. This was in the form of ULM,
a BMBF project, involving VW, Salzgitter
Magnesium-Technologie GmbH (SZMT),
AHC Oberflache, LZH, IFUM IW Hannover,
Eckold and GKSS.
Sheet magnesium displays strong levels of
anisotropy considerably greater than that of
aluminium. This phenomenon relates to the
fact that magnesium has a hexagonally
close-packed structure and texture shape of
the basal plane, whereby activation of basal
slip in the sheet rolling direction is preferred
to the transverse direction. Evidence of this
is displayed in AZ31 tensile tests that show
the rolling direction to have a lower yield and
tensile strength (see Exhibit 4.5).
AEROSPACE
Cockpit carriers
Doors
Non-pressurised parts
Secondary structural parts
Seat components
Interior components
Covers, boxes and brackets
AUTOMOTIVE
Closures
Structural parts
Exterior panels
Crash relevant parts
CONSUMER GOODS
Leisure
Electrical equipment (laptop, mobile
phone and camera casings)
Structural parts
Exterior panels
Crash relevant parts
SZMT supplies sheet magnesium between
1-4 mm thick and heavy plate 20-100 mm
thick. The latter may be used for lightweight,
precision-machined products. SZMT
supplies AZ31 sheet magnesium in the
soft-annealed O condition, the typical
mechanical properties of which are
displayed in Exhibit 4.6.
Sheet quality
Interestingly, magnesium sheet has some

unique mechanical properties, which also
mean that it displays very good dent
resistance. The characteristic is attributable
to the very low modulus of elasticity
combined with its reasonably high yield
strength. Therefore, magnesium sheet offers
good potential for exterior panels that may
require good dent performance.
Soft-annealed O condition
Yield strength, Rp0.2
130-160 MPa
Tensile strength, Rm
230-260 MPa
Uniform elongation, Ag
15-17%
Total elongation, A80
17-22%
Thickness tolerance
0.07 mm
Exhibit 4.6 Typical mechanical properties of

magnesium sheet AZ31
29
The small difference between uniform and

total elongation is a strong characteristic of
the failure behaviour of magnesium, be it
in sheet or extruded product form. For
magnesium alloys, the failure takes place
at maximum load without substantial
further deformation. The reason for this is
that the material fails in shear, and critically
it is very different from sheet aluminium
and strip steel. Therefore, there are some
very different requirements in terms of the
way failure of wrought magnesium is
modelled in crash or other structural
performance models. This is an area where
development is required, and Ford have
been researching.
Interestingly, VW had established that the

hot-stamping method could also be achieved
using low-cost tooling methods suitable for
low-volume applications. Special plastic or
electroplated tools could replace more costly
steel or grey iron materials. Difficulties with
the hemming were found, due to the
reduced formability of the components.
Collaborative trials between IFUM Hannover
and SZMT into hot stamping have been
conducted on some prototype bonnet parts
(see Exhibit 4.7) which have successfully
demonstrated this method to be a viable,
reproducible technique for the production of
components from sheet magnesium.
SZMT produces standard AZ31 sheet and

heavy plate but also speciality alloys. To
complement these, and to support the
growth and development of their products,
SZMT will provide product development
engineering support and produce prototypes
for potential customers.
In terms of manufacturing sheet
magnesium into parts, new or revised
technologies are necessary. These include
those used in forming, joining, and in
component surface treatment. The key
forming processes available include:
Hot bending
Hot stamping
Superplastic forming (SPF)
Warm hydroforming
In trials conducted by VW, hot-stamped

closure parts were successfully produced,
and a number of special lubricants
evaluated. However, from these trials a
number of issues remained to be
resolved, including:
Drawing-fluid deposits left on drawn
component
Smoke
Flammability (slithers)
30
Exhibit 4.7 Hot-stamped magnesium prototype parts

(SZMT and IFUM Hannover)
Trials conducted by VW have found that

whilst conventional sheet magnesium forms
well at between 200-250C, it can be formed
at temperatures as low as 150C. At
elevated temperature, magnesium
demonstrates a drawing ratio of 2.6
compared with 2.5 and 2.2 for deep-drawing
aluminium and steels, respectively. The
drawing ratio is a statement of formability.
The greater the value of drawing ratio, the
greater the material formability. Therefore,
hot stamping exhibits good performance
potential for limited-volume manufacture.
Superplastic forming of magnesium also
shows promise. However, it is likely to
remain a viable production process for verylow-volume, luxury and performance niche
vehicles seeking performance
enhancements through weight reduction.
Again, the current sheet magnesium prices
without
lubrication
optimised
lubrication
prevent or inhibit increased application in

favour of superplastic forming of aluminium
sheet. This issue can only be resolved
through reductions in alloy cost and through
major improvements or developments in the
sheet production processes.
4.2.1
Future development requirements
Besides improving the availability of

magnesium sheet at competitive costs, the
following areas of significant development
are required to achieve greater levels of
implementation readiness:
Surface roughness characteristics
(Ra and peak count) for optimal
lubrication, corrosion protection
and paint finish
Corrosion performance and
surface treatments
Quality (reproducible properties
and dimensions with acceptable
tolerance bands)
Exhibit 4.8
Influence of lubrication on rolling
magnesium sheet
A number of these requirements are likely

to take considerable R&D efforts.
A BMBF research programme examining
the tribology developments during rolling of
magnesium sheets is being conducted at
Hannover University, under the title ULM
(Ultralight Parts Made from Mg Sheets).
The aim of this research is to achieve
better surface qualities in sheet magnesium
products (see Exhibit 4.8).
The major requirements of lubricants for
rolling of magnesium sheets include:
Prevention of sticking
Generation of optimised surface
roughness for coatings (including paint)
Enhanced corrosion resistance
by passivation
To achieve these targets, there are three
key approaches:
Lubricants
Coating of rolls
Optimisation of sheet rolling cycles
31
However, it would appear that mill roll texture

development was currently not a major
feature of this research. It would therefore
appear that the research was to rapidly assist
in product development of magnesium
sheets produced using current technologies
and methods as opposed to long-term, more
capital-intense developments.
4.3
Forged magnesium
GKSS is involved in EU programme

MAGFORGE, which is under way. This
process route is a very strong opportunity
for chassis components. Exhibit 4.9
illustrates a forged magnesium part at
various stages between initial billet and
formed part.
Exhibit 4.9 Forged magnesium demonstration parts
32
Considerable development of the alloys and

process will be required to achieve suitable
components, particularly as currently the
fatigue life of magnesium components is
lower than that for aluminium. For chassis
components, both forged and rheocast
magnesium provides greater opportunity, as
these product forms may be weldable and
heat treatable.
However, actual implementation of these for
components may be some years off. There
appears to be much work still to be done in
this field, and uptake will be difficult for
safety-critical chassis parts in vehicles,
particularly until the price for wrought
magnesium becomes agreeable.
JOINING TECHNOLOGIES
AND INTEGRATION
The joining and integration of magnesium

components is a key area of research,
as the ability to integrate considerably
more magnesium into the vehicle is
heavily dependent upon the successful
development and implementation of these.
in Exhibit 5.1. Features such as radio

supports, poke-yoke features and
mounting/securing features that would
otherwise require a number of parts in an
assembly, may easily be integrated at little
additional cost when designed for.
The following are key issues

for joining and integration:
Selection of joining
technology
Joint and assembly quality
and performance
Production volumes, process
efficiencies and cost
Maturity of joining
processes (including models
of failure behaviour)
Corrosion (galvanic) issues
for joint or other material
interfaces
Surface treatments and their
specification
ELV directive
Beyond weight reduction, a
major benefit of the casting
process is the ability and ease
with which parts may be
integrated into a single
component design, thereby
increasing the part
functionality, and potentially
both cost and performance.
A considerable part reduction
can be achieved over many
conventional steel or
aluminium fabricated designs,
and many different functions
and features achieved in the
single die-casting, as illustrated
Exhibit 5.1 HPDC cross-car beam displaying high levels of part and
function integration
33
In terms of high pressure die-castings, these

have restricted mechanical properties largely
due to entrapped porosity. This is not an
issue for wrought products. Such entrapped
porosity in a casting not only influences
mechanical properties but also the ability to
create assemblies in subsequent welding or
joining processes.
In terms of the vehicle, the key areas
for magnesium implementation include
the following:
Body (structure and interior trim)
Powertrain
Chassis
Joining and integration are particularly
important aspects, and this is why there is
such an interest and focus in this field,
essential to producing component systems
or assemblies of high integrity. Particularly
for body and chassis applications, joining is a
key enabling technology. Whilst magnesium
alloys may be found in vehicles, they
generally are in applications where they are
relatively benign to the remainder of the
structure or vehicle, and typically use
mechanical fasteners to integrate them with
the remaining structure.
The possible scenarios for inclusion of
magnesium components into a future
vehicle body structure include:
Magnesium-intensive body structure
Hybrid body structure
The latter is more likely but will largely
depend upon continual R&D and future
legislation.
However, to date the integration of
magnesium into the structure of a vehicle
has been relatively limited. In the majority of
structural applications, magnesium has been
in the form of HPDC cross-car beams and
seat frames, which include their own
34
integration issues. However, these challenges

are by no means on the same scale as would
be required components for body structures.
Aside of some of the mechanical
performance requirements, the main
reasons for this limited scope of application
can be attributed to a lack of wrought
product availability in suitable quality and
appropriate cost for economic, mass-volume
manufacture. This is also coupled with a
considerable lack of design knowledge,
particularly in terms of simulation capability
to predict magnesium component or
system performance.
A BMBF research programme called InMaK,
between the following research partners,
has addressed some of these issues:
Laser Zentrum Hannover

Hannover University
Ford Forschungzentrum
Honsel
Elisental (aluminium and magnesium
products)
EADS
The InMaK programme was aimed at
identifying improved alloy quality and extrusion
capability but also included the development
of laser and MIG welding processes and the
ability to predict failure under loading, using
numerical simulation techniques. This was
achieved by investigating the structural
performance of magnesium intensive
structures (see Exhibit 5.2).
This programme appeared to link with Fords
magnesium-intensive B-class concept vehicle.
In addition to the InMaK research
programme, joining technology for wrought
magnesium is a major interest and, aside of
alloy development, joining remains a key
enabling technology for the future growth of
magnesium for automotive and other
industry sector applications.
the likely alloys and product forms and

respective joint conditions. Much of the
activity has been focused on the fabrication
capability of demonstration parts or systems
made from wrought components,
particularly extrusions and sheet
magnesium, with joining of sheet to sheet
and extrusion to extrusion used to assimilate
final components.
5.1
Laser welding
Much of GKSSs research activities are in

FSW and laser welding, and mechanical
joining and adhesive bonding. These
activities feed back to alloy development
activities and design guidelines.
Exhibit 5.2 InMaK: applied research into the
manufacture of magnesium structures
Some of the available techniques for joining

of magnesium include:
FSW (friction stir welding)

LAFS (laser assisted friction stir) welding
RSW (resistance spot welding)
MIG (metal inert gas) welding
TIG (tungsten inert gas) welding
Laser welding
Magnetic pulse welding
NVEB (non-vacuum electron beam) welding
SPR (self-pierce-riveting)
Clinching
Adhesive bonding
Fasteners (bolts, screws,
thread-forming screws)
However, a number of these remain very

much at the development stage, and require
further research to become more mature
and gain acceptance or are shelf-engineered
ready for implementation. Only processes
such as TIG and MIG techniques and
fasteners are fully mature.
The principal focus of research into
magnesium joining technologies is to
establish suitable process parameters for
The laser welding activities at GKSS include

both aluminium and magnesium welding. In
the magnesium welding trials, GKSS
identified a number of key characteristics in
laser butt-welding magnesium alloy sheet
material. For AZ31:AZ31 laser-welded joints,
the weldments do not possess grain
coarsening adjacent to the fusion zone (see
Exhibit 5.3). This finding is corroborated by
work done at LKR.
Base metal
Fusion zone
Coarse grained
parent material
Fine grained
fusion zone
No grain coarsening
adjacent fusion zone
Exhibit 5.3 Laser welding of magnesium sheet:

AZ31 (2-mm thick), 7 m/min, 3.3 kW
35
GKSS also found that the size and

distribution of porosity in the weld was
very heavily influenced by the welding
speed, and optimal speeds of 7-10 m/min
are possible in 1-mm thick AZ31, without
the assistance of welding filler wire.
This proves that magnesium can be readily
welded at suitable speeds for volume
manufacture. Other welding trials illustrate
that magnesium could be manufactured as
a tailored blank concept to optimise for
performance by selection of appropriate
material thickness and properties and
their location.
In LKRs laser butt-welding trials, extruded
magnesium alloy AZ31 B-F was capable of
being welded at 13 m/min at a power of
3.3 kW for 1.5-mm, 2.0-mm and 2.5-mm
thick samples. The physical nature of the
laser-welded magnesium samples displayed
a very fine partially melted zone (PMZ) and
no heat-affected zone (HAZ). Argon gas
shielding was used. In the absence of filler,
the welds displayed slight undercut. One of
the issues anticipated was hot cracking;
however, this was not found to be a major
issue with laser beam welding.
5.2
AZ31
AZ61
Al-Mg dissimilar FSW
AZ31
AC120
Exhibit 5.4 Friction stir welded (FSW)

Mg and Mg:Al sheets
FSW but were considerably lower than the

Al:Al. The FSW process appears to be very
tolerant to different material combinations,
including magnesium to aluminium joints
(see Exhibit 5.4).
5.3
Mechanical joining
In terms of these technologies, the following

have received the greatest focus as they are
seen as essential to reducing the cost of
components:
SPR cold (optimisation of rivet
geometry and process)
Clinching elevated temperature
Hemming/seaming elevated temperature
Friction stir welding (FSW)
In GKSSs welding department, FSW is

performed using an FSW robot
configuration. This enables considerable
flexibility in terms of the joint type and
parts that can be welded, when compared
with a standard mill-like FSW machine.
GKSS has found that, in FSW joints in
AZ31-AZ31 magnesium sheets, the weld
has little impact upon the mechanical
properties. A small increase in hardness is
experienced, but little variation across the
weld from parent material to parent
material. The Al:Mg FSW welds displayed
a greater degree of variation in properties,
as would be expected. In terms of fatigue
performance, the Mg:Mg FSW samples
had a similar performance to the Mg:Al
36
Mg-Mg dissimilar FSW
The mechanical joining of magnesium via

SPR, clinch or hemming processes causes
major challenges in that the formability of
magnesium is poor at low temperatures.
However, elevating the temperature has a
knock-on effect of increasing product cost.
Therefore, if any suitable means can be
found by which these joining processes can
be made more economically viable, the
greater the chances of up-take.
Both IFAM and LKR have been involved in
research trials to optimise the geometry of
self-pierce rivets and develop the process so
that it may be achieved at ambient
temperatures. According to LKR, there
appears to have been some success in this,
and a major factor in the joining development
Exhibit 5.5
Cold riveting of AZ31
extrusions, and finite element
process simulation
is the generation of numerical models of the

processes, as shown in Exhibit 5.5,
demonstrating a more economical means of
producing this type of joint. However, some
constraints have been found, and further
development is necessary.
VW has found that riveting magnesium to
aluminium is possible by using semi-tubular
rivets, and achievable at room temperature
provided that the aluminium is placed onto
the bottom die. Such a joint configuration
may be typical of what could be expected
in a potential future closure system or
body structure assembly.
VW has also been involved in the successful
development of heated seam joints or
hemming for the hood closure system on the
3L Lupo. The heating fulfils two purposes:
it provides enhanced formability of the
hemmed joint and also cures the adhesive.
However, particular attention to detail in
terms of the passivation treatment is critical.
5.4
Resistance spot welding (RSW)
LKR is also involved in research into RSW

of magnesium sheet in addition to highstrength steel and aluminium, with cost a
major motivator. Much of this development
is achieved through numerical simulation
techniques. However, this welding
technology is not a major focus compared
with other joining technologies.
5.5
Co-extrusion
LKR has also actively researched

co-extrusion, a means of metallurgically
bonding two or more alloys by simultaneous
extrusion (see Exhibit 5.6). The purpose is to
achieve selectively tailored performance,
eg stiffness, strength, wear, chemical
resistance, optical appearance.
Exhibit 5.6 LKR co-extrusion

research
37
5.6
Mechanical fasteners
MPI has tackled some of the more

conventional but no less important areas
such as the common attachment screw for
assembly of the interior trim to the
instrument panel beam, for example. It has
become increasingly common in recent
years to use steel threaded inserts in
lightweight materials due to their inability to
cope with the requirements for re-insertion
or serviceability (see Exhibit 5.7).
Exhibit 5.8
New thread-forming
screw for fastening to
magnesium castings
This solution performs very well in all tests

for pull-out force and assembly ease.
The torque settings are still an important
assembly requirement but the advantages
far outweigh this.
Exhibit 5.7 Conventional steel threaded insert used
with magnesium HPDCs
Constant insertion and extraction of the

screw would generally degrade the thread in
the light metal and render it useless as an
attachment. Steel inserts provide a stable
platform for the thread to engage and reengage several times.
However, the major drawback with this
method is the issues that can arise with the
insert spinning in the aluminium or
magnesium metallic carrier metal. There can
also be an issue with assembly torque on
the guns used at the OEM or Tier 1
integrator. The torque range must be
restricted, and this sometimes requires
more diligence than usually desired. As a
consequence, great strides have been made
at some fastener suppliers in manufacturing
a screw which forms the thread within the
casting and provides an excellent
serviceability record for re-insertion. This is
now offered as a robust solution when
attaching to magnesium (see Exhibit 5.8).
38
Many assembly lines continue with the

frustration of spinning riv-nuts and riv-serts,
but there are thread-forming screws that can
perform admirably against any steel screw
and do not require steel at all. The thread
forming screw option is offered to Meridians
customers in their magnesium HPDC
component designs.
There are many other areas of advantage in
the use of these screws, and the
environmental one is important and will
become more advantageous in the future, as
environmental pressures become even more
intense. When recycling the lightweight
materials with steel inserts, the grade of
metal would either be downgraded and the
steel taken out during the melt, or the steel
inserts would have to be removed prior to
the melt to make it a higher grade scrap part.
With the use of thread forming screws, as
the fitted components are removed we have
a purely magnesium alloy component which
is 100% recyclable with ease.
Heat radiation
1
1 Aluminium foam
2 Thread bush
3 Foamable magnesium
Exhibit 5.9 New metal foam threaded-insert technology
Some very interesting research at Hannover

University includes the use of diffusion
bonding to encapsulate threaded inserts into
metal foams, whereby magnesium foam
surrounding the threaded insert is diffused
into the aluminium foam, as shown in Exhibit
5.9. This joint enables connectivity of the
structural foam to another foam or structure.
39
MAGNESIUM SURFACE
TREATMENTS
The corrosion resistance of magnesium

components depends upon similar factors
that are critical to other metals. However, due
to the electrochemical activity of magnesium,
the relative importance of certain key factors
can greatly amplify the propensity by which
magnesium may corrode.
The electrochemical activity of magnesium
alloys and their corrosion behaviour has long
been an issue and was partly the cause of a
reduction in their utilisation in many
aerospace applications. The original poor
performance of these early alloys was
largely attributed to heavy-metal impurities
such as iron, nickel and copper. Modern
high-purity alloys do not suffer from the
same issue, as illustrated by the different
corrosion rates between AZ91C and highpurity AZ91E (see Exhibit 6.1).
This demonstrates that modern magnesium
alloys have similar salt-spray corrosion
performance to aluminium alloys. Four main
elements (iron, nickel, copper and cobalt)
have extremely deleterious effects on the
corrosion performance of magnesium
1,100
Corrosion performance of
various magnesium and
aluminium alloys
1,000
40
ASTM B117 Salf fog corrosion rate (mpy)
Exhibit 6.1
because of their low solid solubility limits

and their ability to serve as active cathodic
sites for the reduction of water, at the
sacrifice of elemental magnesium. It is
because modern high-purity magnesium
alloys have much lower concentrations of
iron, nickel and copper that the corrosion
performance is considerably improved.
What complicates the use of magnesium
alloys, however, is the electrochemical
activity. For some component applications
there is a requirement for appropriate
coating systems to prevent or reduce
galvanic corrosion effects by means of
passivation, making the magnesium surface
more inert. Such a coating or surface
treatment may be supplementary to any
aesthetic coating requirement.
The development of new surface treatments
and coating technologies for magnesium
components is therefore essential to enable
widespread use of magnesium alloys to
achieve lighter, more fuel-efficient designs
for transport components.
900
800
700
ZE 41
600
QE 22
500
A Z91C
400
300
200
100
C 355
A 201
A 356
A 203
A 357
A 206
W E 43
W E 54
Elektron 21
A Z91E
The other major driver for the development

of new coating technologies or new coating
systems is to achieve new environmentally
friendly systems in accordance with
legislation such as the EU end-of-life vehicle
(ELV) directive (EC 2003/53). Such new
coating systems must also be economic,
whilst displaying equivalent or better
corrosion performance and/or wear
resistance. For automotive applications, the
use of hexavalent chromium and other
heavy metals has been prohibited through
the ELV directive. Therefore, automotive
manufacturers are required to use
alternative coating systems, some of which
may be inferior for the equivalent cost, or
more costly in delivering equivalent or
better performance.
6.1
Mission objectives (surface

treatments)
Importantly, also, the new coating systems

must provide for good adhesion, particularly
where adhesive bonding is used as a means
of joining components together.
Breakthrough of the coating could have
disastrous effects on the performance of the
joint, and possibly lead to failure.
A major EU programme called NANOMAG has

been undertaken to investigate four candidate
technologies that may enter the coatings
market of the future for use with magnesium
alloy substrate components. The three-year
programme that started in April 2002 aims to
develop optimised coatings specifically for
different applications, and investigates wear,
Investigate the state-of-the-art of

European surface treatments
Identify potential new applications for
magnesium, particularly those where
surface treatment is critical to its success
or failure
Identify areas where the use of
magnesium is being limited by lack of
suitable surface treatment
Observe how seriously the Europeans
see surface treatment as an issue
Identify potential partners for UK
companies and DTI investment projects
6.2
NANOMAG
Exhibit 6.2
Closed-field
power supply
PAPVD coating process

Cathodic arc evaporation
Work
piece
Sputter power
supply: bipolar
pulsed DC
Power supply: bipolar

pulsed DC
V
V
Ar
Substrate bias:
bipolar pulsed DC
V
41
Exhibit 6.3
PECVD coating process
OCH 3
OCH 3 - Si OCH 3, O 2
QuickTime and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
H2O, CO2 ,
CH 3OH
OCH 3
PUMP
13.5 MHz
Work piece
Exhibit 6.4
Sol-gel coating process
Solution
Hydrolysis
Substrate
Xerogel
Substrate
Dense
coating
Sol
Exhibit 6.5
Electrode 1
Electrode 2
Electrical pulses
Keronite (PEO) process

Heat
exchanger
Power supply
Plasma
discharge
Work
piece
Acousto
Electrolyte
hydrodynamic
generator
Electrolyte
Pump
Air
42
corrosion protection and adhesion properties

and the economical and technological
feasibility of scaling up and using these
technologies via life-cycle assessments (LCAs).
The four candidate surface technologies
included in the study were:
PAPVD
PECVD
Sol-gel
Keronite (PEO)
6.2.1
PAPVD
Plasma-assisted physical vapour deposition

(PAPVD) coatings use thermal vaporisation
and sputtering methods to build a coating
layer on the substrate (see Exhibit 6.2).
Manipulation of the sputtering target
material and sputtering power supply
controls the deposition density and
morphology on the substrate.
6.2.2
PECVD
Chemical vapour deposition (CVD)

techniques use liquid inorganic and organic
compounds and gases to deposit a coating
onto the substrate material or workpiece.
In the NANOMAG programme, the plasmaenhanced chemical vapour deposition
(PECVD) process develops a silicon-oxide
based coating on the workpiece,
generating a micro- and nano-structured
coating (see Exhibit 6.3). The coating R&D
is being performed by the Universita degli
Studi di Bari, supported with process
optimisation characterisation from the
University of Patras. Archer Technicoat Ltd
of the UK are supporting with the provision
and design of the coating equipment.
6.2.3
Sol-gel
In principle, this coating uses ceramic

surface engineering technology. Sol-gel
coats the surface of a substrate with a
hydrolysed ceramic liquid. After curing and
firing, the liquid becomes a very protective
solid ceramic phase (see Exhibit 6.4).
This micro- and nano-coating technology and
the PAPVD technique were being researched
by CSEM SA (Switzerland).
6.2.4
Keronite (PEO)
As well as being the name of the company,

Keronite is a registered trademark used to
describe a revolutionary new surface
engineering technology designed for the
treatment of light metals such as alloys of
magnesium and aluminium. It uses a unique
electro-ceramic method of surface
treatment known as plasma electrolytic
oxidation (PEO).
Keronite technology uses an immersion
process, whereby electrical pulses of both
positive and negative polarities are passed
through a bath of non-hazardous, chromefree, low-concentrate alkaline electrolyte, as
illustrated in Exhibit 6.5.
This treatment quickly transforms the
surface of the substrate metal into a hard,
dense layer, providing protection from
corrosion and wear.
A localised plasma discharge converts the
surface of light metal substrates into a
complex ceramic, by means of:
Oxidation of the surface
Elementary co-deposition
Fusion of the ceramic layer
Keronite coatings perform well on a wide
range of alloys, including some that
conventional anodising processes cannot
43
treat. Unlike most traditional coating

methods, it is possible to interrupt the
treatment mid-process without damaging
the structure of the surface or the finish. It is
also possible to repair worn or damaged
parts, restoring them to their original
specification rather than discarding and
replacing them.
According to James A Curran, a research
scientist in the Composites and Coatings
Group at The Gordon Laboratory,
Department of Materials Science and
Metallurgy: Keronite coatings present an
attractive combination of properties for
applications in the automotive and
aerospace industries. The coatings exhibit
hardness and wear resistance that can be
superior even to plasma sprayed or EB-PVD
coatings and can significantly out-perform
anodised coatings in this respect. Moreover,
the adhesion and low residual stresses in
Keronite coatings could make them suitable
for high-temperature environments or
thermal cycling.
The four new coatings PAPVD, PECVD,
sol-gel and Keronite will be extensively
assessed on demonstrator automotive and
aerospace components within the
NANOMAG programme.
The envisaged timescales at which these
four coating technologies may be exploited
are also under detailed review.
6.3
Highlights
6.3.1
Industrial perspective
Most of the current applications using a lot

of magnesium are automotive die-castings,
and most are under-bonnet applications
(engine covers and gearbox housings) and
non-visible body reinforcements (closure
frames, front modules, seat frames,
IP beams, headlamp brackets and,
more recently, convertible roof frames).
44
Of the companies visited, BMW is the

most advanced user of magnesium in
terms of tackling the practical corrosion and
coating issues. BMW presented a two-part
pressed magnesium bonnet for which
Keronite is used as the anti-corrosion
coating. Also, the new magnesium engine
is the talk of the automotive world, and
everybody we met in Germany expressed
unprompted opinions about it. Even so, in
the most vulnerable area, it uses aluminium
a combined water jacket and cylinder
head to resist corrosion and wear. BMW
is interested in the possibility of large,
stressed, magnesium castings.
Aerospace is being targeted for magnesium
non-structural use (eg hostess trolleys, cable
trunking) only, due to corrosion and
flammability risk. SZMT is particularly
interested in aerospace because of the
greater margins available.
The supply of surface treatment is
dominated by conversion processes of
Henkel and Chemetall. So-called nanocoatings, typically silane-based polymers, are
also seen as promising. Several organisations
worked with AHCs Magoxid-coat, though no
production applications were shown. Hella
uses aluminised powder coat on magnesium
headlamps, cast by HDO.
HDO specialises in casting small parts with
a decorative finish. It has a partnership with
Atotech, the US surface treatment company.
Currently, the reject rate of headlamps is too
high because of surface treatment
problems. HDO also casts magnesium door
grab handles for DaimlerChrysler, which are
then chrome plated. However, this is too
expensive currently as it takes too many
steps, but further developments are taking
place to improve the cost and quality of this
decorative finish.
MPI is the largest European supplier of
magnesium parts. It has become an expert
in corrosion-resistant design (avoidance of

water traps, multimaterial contact corrosion,
etc). Some products, eg instrument panel
beams and seat frames, are sent to the
customer with no coating of any kind.
For more difficult jobs such as the front
module MPI has tested different
pretreatments (chromate, Fe and Zn
phosphates, phosphor-permanganate,
Alodine 5200, fluoro Zn, Keronite) and top
coats (primer e-coat and powder coat).
Sometimes, MPI also uses coatings on seat
frames to prevent squeaking of the
magnesium against the seat padding.
6.3.2
Academic and RTO perspective
The distinction between universities and

research and technology organisations
(RTOs) visited is fuzzy. This image is
reinforced by the many examples of crosscollaboration we saw, and by the existence
of the Fraunhofer Institutes often attached to
a university. Broadly speaking, RTOs appear
to be funded more heavily by government
than are the universities. The hosts most
active in surface treatment of magnesium
were GKSS and IFAM.
GKSS
The GKSS magnesium research centre has
a dedicated corrosion department, headed
by Dr Wolfgang Dietzler. Its main
Exhibit 6.6
Electrochemical
pen used at GKSS
to determine
corrosion potential
experience is studying corrosion

mechanisms and providing testing
services. It has good test facilities, and
experience in stress corrosion cracking.
One of the corrosion evaluation techniques
offered at GKSS is the electrochemical pen
(see Exhibit 6.6) for evaluating the
corrosion potential of a substrate and the
influence of a coating or joining by means
of scanning the material, measuring the
free corrosion potential.
Such information could be used to improve
the joint processing to achieve improved
corrosion performance, or in the
development of coatings (see Exhibit 6.7),
without the need for arduous corrosion saltspray tests. This quantitative test method
provides very detailed information on the
coatings electrochemical behaviour, and
information on any flaws or defects.
Exhibit 6.7
Coating evaluation using
electrochemical, scanning pen
45
Yd
ire
cti
on
Free corrosion potential (V)
currently not state-of-the-art. This project

is funded by GKSS.
Other target projects for the future include
investigations into plasma spraying, chromefree chemical conversion coatings, followed
by the development of polymer coatings.
IFAM
X direction
AZ31
magnesium
AA5083
aluminium
Exhibit 6.8 Open circuit potential scan using

electrochemical pen to assess free
corrosion potential of FSW of AZ31
magnesium to AA5083 aluminium
GKSS has also performed investigations on

the corrosion behaviour of different joining
methods of dissimilar metals, notably
aluminium and magnesium (see Exhibit 6.8).
Again, GKSS works with partners in
developing surface treatments.
GKSSs plans are ambitious. Its vision is to
find coatings that are both wear- and
corrosion-resistant on magnesium.
It has two projects just starting:
PVD magneto sputtering, ion beam,
arc evaporation, intermetallics, etc. This is
being funded in the InnoMagTec initiative.
A version of the PEO process is being
researched, similar to that of Keronite,
and is under co-development with a
Ukrainian research institute, at which it
was founded. They have already published
a paper and want to study the influence
of different substrates and process
parameters. Their targets are porosity
reduction and identification of suitable
sealants for better properties. So far, the
morphology of this coating appears
satisfactory, though the properties are
46
IFAM also displayed some excellent and

modern research facilities, and a professional
approach. Significantly, it receives more
funding from industry than government.
IFAM, Bremen is the project manager of
MG-CHASSIS, one of the EU-funded MGCLUSTER projects looking at the use of
magnesium in the car industry. The goal is
to reduce vehicle weight by the increased
use of magnesium HPDC for automotive
chassis components. The project aims to
specify materials for an engine support
(with CRF), transmission mounts (VW) and
an engine bracket (Opel). The work
packages include one on surface treatment
being carried out by the Swedish Corrosion
Institute in Stockholm.
Alloys were tested for corrosion resistance
amongst other properties, and a shortlist
derived. These included AM60 (corrosion
rate 3 mg/dm2/day), AZ91 (1.9) and three
MRI alloys (approx 0.6). The alloy choices
were further corrosion-tested to see the
influence of:
Surface roughness: polished surfaces
were found to have approximately
2x better resistance
NaCl concentration: more NaCl gave
more corrosion
Temperature: ditto
Relative humidity: ditto
Presence of CO2 and SO2: more of each
reduced corrosion
Presence of other metals,
eg aluminium washers
So far, these tests have been carried out on

bare magnesium only.
IFAM corrosion department is led by Dr
Ihde who led a study to find the best
corrosion protection coating process for
magnesium components. He investigated
bought-in coatings Ti-F, V-Mn, a silane-based
coating, an oxide-based coating (Magoxidcoat from AHC), plasma spraying and Cr6.
On top of these, they applied various
powder coats, e-coat, solvent paints and
special coatings (MKS). The final preferred
process was:
Alkaline cleaning
Acid pickling
Cr6-free pretreatment
E-coat
Powder coat
A key conclusion was that a good-quality

magnesium sample performs much better
than a bad one, given exactly the same
cleaning and coating.
The German system of research funding,
especially Fraunhofer Institutes, seems to
have spun off a number of companies
developing and selling so-called nanocoatings for magnesium and other materials
with good prospects.
6.3.3
Perceived technical/
economic barriers
Cost is definitely seen as a barrier to the

wider uptake of magnesium components in
the automotive industry, particularly the cost
of corrosion protection. In the aerospace
industry, cost was not cited as an issue.
Rather, risk of corrosion and flammability are
fears that prevent magnesium use in primary
or even secondary structures.
In automotive applications, components
may be exposed to aggressive
environments that promote conditions of
accelerated corrosion. In applications in

which components are exposed and/or
visible such as door and tailgate frames,
front-end structures, headlamp casings, etc
greater demands on the corrosion
resistance and the aesthetic surface quality
of the component are placed. These new
applications are driving the demand for
suitable surface treatments for large
magnesium components.
For the majority of the assembled vehicle
body-in-white (BIW), a phosphate/electrocoat process will be used in conjunction
with finish painting. Unlike steel parts,
magnesium components cannot be directly
assembled to the vehicle. The reasons why
this is not practical are as follows:
Standard phosphate treatments do not
provide adequate paint adhesion quality
The phosphate tank environment which a
vehicle body and its closures pass
through is very acidic and causes
dissolution of magnesium
Fe ions will deposit on magnesium,
dramatically reducing its corrosion
resistance
Thus, for these applications, magnesium
requires a pretreatment which is a
chemical conversion of the materials
surface. A pretreatment alone is not always
sufficient to produce satisfactory galvanic
corrosion resistance.
6.3.4
Current and future

research priorities
The largest funding for magnesium projects

in Europe is the EU MG-CLUSTER group
comprising MG-CHASSIS, MG-ENGINE,
MAGJOIN and NANOMAG, and collectively
the funding is very significant. These all
have an automotive bias. UK representation
is near zero. CRF has a coordinating role
in all four and is also the project manager
for NANOMAG
47
NANOMAG is aimed at finding suitable

surface treatments for magnesium
components, and is testing PVD, Keronite
and various polymeric nano-coatings.
CRF reported that Keronite was the
best coating tested.
Also of particular note is the new
InnoMagTec initiative being coordinated by
GKSS. It has assigned 3.5 million to
26 joint projects funded by the German
Research Council. The money will go to
research centres and universities all over
Germany. It has several projects dealing with
coatings for corrosion and wear resistance,
including a PVD project at GKSS and two on
mechanical treatment of magnesium
surfaces, which could be interesting.
InnoMagTec has five working groups,
including one focused on corrosion,
illustrating that significant emphasis is being
placed on corrosion protection.
For industry, automotive people we met
were trying to use alloy selection to offset
the likelihood of corrosion rather than accept
a surface treatment, in order to save cost.
6.4
Conclusions
German organisations are very active in

magnesium research, and see it primarily
as a German metal.
German industry benefits from significant
funding on magnesium research, spent
under a cohesive strategy, with many
organisations working together.
There is an EU-funded group of magnesium
projects, MG-CLUSTER, from which UK
companies are spectacularly absent. In
some cases, this money appears to be
given to novices who will gain significant
ground on their UK counterparts.
Professor Kainer at GKSS is concerned
about the considerable activities of
China, and believes EU funding is
required if Europe is to preserve and
protect its magnesium industry.
Such threats will also impact upon the
surface engineering industry, because
if magnesium components are
manufactured in China, then they will
also be surface treated in China.
Several organisations mentioned that the
aircraft industry is a big potential market
for magnesium. It is suited to low-volume,
high-value manufacturing that still appears
to be sustainable in the UK. Addressing
the two main fears of flammability and
corrosion convincingly could differentiate
UK industry. They do not appear to be
tackled well on mainland Europe, and we
have the expertise in the UK to make
a breakthrough.
48
POTENTIAL FUTURE APPLICATIONS

AND TECHNO-ECONOMIC ISSUES
7.1
Introduction
In addition to the missions main aim of

benchmarking UK magnesium technology
against European magnesium technology, its
second role was to examine the use of
magnesium in the European automotive
sector and relate this to its use in the UK
automotive sector.
For an automotive part to be manufactured in
magnesium, the part must of course show
benefit with respect to the alternatives. As
well as lightweighting, where magnesium has
a natural advantage over steel and aluminium,
a magnesium design solution will have
advantages and disadvantages with respect to
alternative solutions manufactured from steel,
aluminium or plastics. Obviously, the balance
of these is different for each part. Some of the
key aspects of an automotive product
mentioned by the mission hosts included:
Total cost
Crash impact behaviour
Part integration
Stiffness
Surface finish
Durability
Supply chain maturity and stability
One common factor which was highlighted

on several occasions was that, in situations
where magnesium was applied as a direct
material substitution, little or no benefit was
gained. Applications where magnesium was
successfully applied tended to be situations
where the part and/or system was specifically
designed for magnesium.
Much is made of the driver for using
magnesium for weight-saving. However, the
view of the European OEMs was that there

was little or no direct cost-benefit in weightsaving (except in specific parts such as
removable seats). Fiat stated that a cost
increase of 2/kg weight saved was possible,
but in practice weight-saving should be free.
It should be considered that weight-saving is
an order-winner for a cost-neutral alternative.
Thus, in order to assess the future of
magnesium penetration into automotive
manufacture, it is necessary to consider not
only how the technology is developing, but
also what factors will affect the final part cost.
7.2
Magnesium supply and demand in

western Europe
7.2.1
Magnesium supply
The global production of magnesium has

been transformed over the last decade by
penetration into the western market of
metal from the Peoples Republic of China
(PRC). In 1994, PRC magnesium accounted
for less than 20% of global production, with
much of its production going into lower
quality applications such as desulphurising
steel. By 2003, in spite of import tariffs in
both the EU and USA over some of that
timeframe, total market penetration had
increased to ~65%, and to nearly 100% in
some sectors such as desulphurisation.
Chinese penetration in the die-casting sector
has been slower, with many companies
taking a conservative view regarding product
quality and reliability. However, as the
Chinese producers have developed better
quality-control systems, sales have
increased, and it is expected that this
pattern will continue.
49
The effect of Chinese market penetration

has also been felt by western producers,
with over 250 kt of western production
capacity being shut down or mothballed
since 19902. In addition to this, several
planned western primary production
developments have been abandoned. This
fluidity in the supply market is of concern to
the OEMs as it poses the question of
whether the supply chain is stable.
Unlike aluminium, magnesium is not a traded
commodity. This means that no official price
data are available. The price of westernproduced magnesium softened from around
$2,500/t through 2000, falling to $1,8002,000/t by 2001. This coincides with the rise
of availability of Chinese magnesium. The
price remained roughly at these levels until
the final quarter of 2003, when the price
rose sharply to $2,200-2,300/t, only to fall
back to earlier levels by quarter 2, 2004. This
price spike was driven by Chinese prices and
availability, and was reported to have been
caused by raw material and power supply
issues in the PRC.
The price difference between westernproduced metal and Chinese metal was
roughly $600/t in 2000. This has slowly
reduced as market confidence in Chinese
metal has increased; however, the situation
is complicated by changes to duty imposed

by the EU and the USA. The current position
in western Europe (where there is no
anti-dumping duty) is that there is now little
premium for western-produced metal over
Chinese-produced, and that the prices
(both western and Chinese) are driven by
the Chinese producer price.
7.2.2 Magnesium demand in
western Europe
Utilisation of magnesium is dominated by
three applications: alloying with aluminium,
desulphurising steel, and high-pressure
die-castings. Other applications combined
make up less than 10%. Aluminium alloying
and desulphurisation are not structural
applications, so are outside the remit of
this report.
Demand for magnesium in western Europe
has shown an average of 10% growth
across all markets over the last 10 years,
resulting in annual consumption rising from
60,000 t in 1993 to 125,000 t in 2003.
This rate of growth is roughly double that
of North America over the same period.
However, this growth is dominated by HPDC
growth, which has been averaging over 20%
throughout the decade (see Exhibit 7.1).
50,000
Exhibit 7.1
45,000
Western European
consumption of magnesium
for die-castings3
40,000
Tonnes
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2 Robert L Edgar, The Magnesium Industry Past, Present and Future, in: Proceedings of the 60th World Magnesium Conference, Stuttgart, May 2003, published
by International Magnesium Association (IMA)
3 Source data: International Magnesium Association (IMA)
50
This growth is dominated by automotive

applications, which make up the vast
majority of the die-castings produced, and
compares favourably with the situation in
America, where die-cast magnesium use
has reduced since 1999 (see Exhibit 7.2).
significantly too high to interest the OEMs in

series production. VW quote that wrought
magnesium has a current price range of
10-15/kg, with 5-8/kg as the target4.
7.2.3 Magnesium demand in the UK

Magnesium die-casting production in the UK
is currently less than 10% that of western
Europe, with 95% of the UK production (by
tonnage) being concentrated in one producer.
This is largely in line with the size and
demand of the UKs automotive industry.
7.3
Wrought alloys
Currently, there are no European series

production applications for the automotive
industry that involve wrought magnesium.
The economic factors affecting take-up of
magnesium are very different for wrought
magnesium (both sheet and extrusions).
The growth in die-castings has led to a
concerted European research effort in
wrought magnesium. For example, the FP5
programmes MAGNEXTRUSCO and
MAGJOIN, and the German governmentfunded programmes. From a commercial
perspective, however, the prices of available
magnesium extrusion and sheet are
There is an acknowledgment that the

reason the wrought price is so high is a
combination of technical and supply
factors. The technical aspects, such as
difficulty in extruding and forming, are the
focus of much of the German research
effort, whilst two large German companies
SZMT and Thyssen-Krupp are
addressing the lack of magnesium sheet
supply availability. Both companies have
invested heavily in the development of
sheet magnesium production capacity. In
the UK, Magnesium Elektron has
developed a magnesium sheet capacity by
acquiring a rolling mill in North America.
7.4
Automotive applications
7.4.1 Powertrain
The powertrain is the part of the vehicle
with one of the largest potentials for weight
reduction, and is also one of the greatest for
potential volume magnesium applications.
In 2004 BMW launched a composite block
consisting of an inner casting made from
100,000
Exhibit 7.2
North and South American
consumption of magnesium
for die-castings3
Tonnes
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
4 S Schumann & H Friedrich, The Route from the Potential of Magnesium to Increased Application in Cars, in: Proceedings of the 60th World Magnesium
Conference, Stuttgart, May 2003, published by IMA
51
aluminium, which contains the cylinder liners

and the coolant, surrounded by a magnesium
alloy HPDC crankcase. This component is for
the new straight-6 series of engines and will
be in high-volume series production in 2005.
VW have been investigating similar
technology, and in 2004 showed research on
a 4-cylinder block.
VW/Audi introduced manual magnesium
gearboxes on some Passat and Golf models
in 1996.
In 2003/4 Mercedes-Benz introduced an
automatic magnesium gearbox 7-speed
tip-tronic, shown in Exhibit 7.3.
These applications are seen as traditional

magnesium applications (see Exhibit 7.4).
Of particular interest is the use of magnesium
for interior trim parts, whereby magnesium
provides a metallic look and feel that is
currently sought after over other substrate
materials such as injection or blow moulded
engineering plastics, at no weight penalty.
In luxury and performance cars, magnesium
castings are also being used for seats
(see Exhibit 7.5), door inners and convertible
roof supports.
In a low-emissions version of the Lupo, VW
produced a magnesium die-cast hatchback
inner (see Exhibit 7.6). Such projects enable
the OEM to develop technologies in order
that they may be shelf-engineered, so that
at a later date they can be called upon with
known or defined solutions.
7.4.4 Wrought applications
Exhibit 7.3 Mercedes-Benz 7G-Tronic seven-speed

automatic transmission
There are no current applications of wrought

magnesium known to be in series
production. However, there is considerable
interest and development/demonstrator work
taking place in the European automotive
industry, much of which is highly confidential.
7.4.2 Structural castings
7.4.5 Beyond automotive applications
Magnesium is being widely used for IP

beams. These parts integrate a structural
cross-member running behind the dashboard
with various attachments for functions such
as dashboard or centre consoles.
Whilst automotive applications are likely to

remain the dominant consumer of
magnesium alloys, growth is also envisaged
in their uptake by fielding them in applications
in the following sectors or industries:
7.4.3 Other castings
Magnesium is now widely used for many

non-structural or secondary structural castings
in high-volume series. Notable examples are
steering wheels and steering column
support/lock housings, where there has been
a high level of conversion to magnesium.
52
Aerospace
Rail
Military
Information and communications
technologies
Power generation
Leisure
Medical
Exhibit 7.4 Traditional HPDC magnesium component

applications
Exhibit 7.5
Exhibit 7.6 Magnesium die-cast tailgate inner

component and mission team at GKSS
HPDC magnesium
seat frame
53
Each market sector is likely to have its own

R&D activities in order to meet its specific
requirements. This in itself is also a major
benefit, as this activity will also increase and
assist the knowledge and research base for
magnesium alloy product forms.
7.5
Conclusions
Magnesium deployment in automotive

applications is showing strong growth in
Europe. Its use as high-pressure diecastings has recently been extended to
include blocks, gearboxes and structural
members. As these applications are
successful on their specific platforms,
they will stimulate further expansions and
transfer to other platforms and sectors.
Wrought magnesium is less well
developed, and needs considerable
process development and cost reduction
before automotive applications in series
production will be viable on anything
except the most expensive platforms or
very-low-volume luxury or performance
models. Significant potential also exists for
wrought magnesium in other industries
that are not sensitive to its price.
54
R&D FUNDING AND

INFRASTRUCTURE
A notable feature of the mission was to gain

a better understanding of the level of
collaborative research involving magnesium
since the late 1990s.
The German government has been funding
a significantly high level of magnesium
research. InnoMagTec1 funded by the
German Research Council aims at
extending the applications of magnesium
alloys. The project comprises 107 research
proposals, and has been allocated a budget
of 19.4 million. GKSS are involved in this
programme, along with Hamburg,
Paderborn, Dortmund, Aachen, Erlangen,
Karlsruhe, Freiburg, and Ranshofen in
Austria. Initial results will be presented after
18 months.
The German Federal Ministry of Education
and Research (BMBF) has been funding
collaborative magnesium research with
Israel under the MINERVA project,
believed to be of value around 4 million.
Magnesium sheet also features in the
BMBF-funded super-light-car project
(Ultra Light parts in Magnesium ULM),
with the target of developing a 1-litre VW
car having total weight of 260 kg, with
around 35 kg of magnesium.
8.1
EU research projects
A non-exhaustive summary list of EU-funded

magnesium research projects since 1998 is
given in Exhibit 8.1. These projects cover the
whole range of areas important to industry,
from alloy development to manufacture,
finishing and joining. It is estimated that the
total value of this research is of the order of
37 million, of which around 50% has been
provided by the EU. Of the 24 projects
listed, only 7 involved UK participation,

and the majority of those were FP4 projects
engaging small UK organisations.
A significant activity relates to a number of
major FP5 magnesium research projects in
progress: MG-CHASSIS; MG-ENGINE,
NANOMAG, MAGJOIN. These projects have
been clustered to form MG-CLUSTER, to
facilitate the synergy achievable by transferring
know-how from one project to another.
A brief summary will now be given of the
key research projects in this cluster.
MG-CLUSTER
Coordinator: CRF (Italy)
This cluster has been organised to promote
a synergic effect from multiple results of the
different projects and to integrate the
necessary large quantity of activities in an
effective way, such that it will be possible to
embrace almost all kinds of application in
the field of the automotive industry.
MG-CHASSIS
Coordinator: IFAM (Germany)
The objective of the project is to develop a
manufacturing technology for the production
of lightweight magnesium chassis
components for high-toughness applications
(eg wheels, chassis), and to validate this for
two demonstrators. New magnesium alloys
with improved mechanical properties and
better corrosion resistance will be used, and
improved joining techniques. A fatigue-life
estimation method and quality-assurance
methods for highly loaded parts will
contribute to the design guidelines for
magnesium components.
55
Project title
Completion
date
EU funding
()
UK
FP4 projects
Design and processing of selectively reinforced Mg-based components
1998
Shaping of magnesium and aluminium alloys by pressure die-casting

in the semi-solid state
1998
MAGDOOR: magnesium door inner
1999
Thixoforming of advanced light metals for automotive components
1999
Action for low-weight automotive technologies
2000
Calculation and experimental investigation of the phase diagrams Mg-Li-X
2000
Development and testing of new surface treatment processes for

magnesium alloys
2000
SAMMI: safe and economic machining of magnesium castings
2001
Autopassive wrought magnesium alloys
2001
CREEPAL: long-term creep and thermal-mechanical cycling behaviour

of aluminium alloys
2001
FP5 projects*
Development of novel materials in mechanical engineering
2002
22,006
Ecological and effective high-speed machining of magnesium
2002
650,000
MAGJOIN: new joining techniques for light magnesium components
2003
1,578,739
MAGNEXTRUSCO: hydrostatic extrusion process for efficient production

of magnesium structural components
2004
1,447,145
MAGCAST: production line integrated sensor system for porosity quality

control of magnesium die-castings
2004
975,800
REMACAF: recycling of magnesium chips and flash/fines
2004
500,469
SEPCAST: sustainable and economic production of

magnesium components
2004
2,306,033
MG-CHASSIS: advanced manufacturing technology for automotive

chassis components through extensible and sustainable use of Mg alloys
2005
2,648,965
NANOMAG: development of innovative nanocomposite coatings

for magnesium castings
2005
3,386,475
EUROMAGUPCASTER: European magnesium upward continuous caster
2005
1,705,509
MAGBODY: magnesium-intensive, multimaterial body structures by

advanced joining technologies
2005
117,600
MG-ENGINE: lightweight engine construction through extended and

sustainable use of Mg-alloys
2005
1,849,395
RHEOLIGHT: rheocasting an innovative and ecological process for

light and cost-effective applications in different industrial sectors
2005
1,275,351
FP6 projects
MAGFORGE
2007
* EU FP5: Total EU funding around 15.8 million, ie total project value around 31.6 million (~22.5 million);
UK involvement 3 from 13 projects
Exhibit 8.1 EU-funded R&D projects for structural magnesium
56
Fuel consumption and CO2 emission of

passenger vehicles are associated with a
growing demand for low-weight
components. As a consequence,
magnesium has recently gained importance
due to its low density and the high strengthto-weight ratio. However, existing
magnesium alloys are not suitable for thick
components requiring high strength and
ductility. Furthermore, the current
manufacturing technology has to be
modified in order to fulfil the requirements
of high-volume production. The overall
objective proposal is therefore to develop a
suitable manufacturing technology for the
production of lightweight magnesium
chassis components and to validate this for
two demonstrators.
IFAM is investigating HPDC, warm chamber
(700 t) and cold chamber (4,500 t); and using
a large X-ray facility to inspect quality.
The total funding for MG-CHASSIS is worth
some 5.1 million total, and the EU
achieved a 50% funding level. The partners
for this programme include IFAM, CRF,
DaimlerChrysler, Opel, Stockholm Corrosion
Institute, Dead Sea Magnesium Ltd, and
CBF Darmstadt.
Key elements of research include:
Alloy development/evaluation
Process study and selection (looking at
sand casting + liquid HIPing (at CRF) to
reduce porosity
Corrosion and surface treatment
evaluation (VICT)
Exploitation (data compiled
and disseminated)
Demonstrator components to be evaluated:
VW transmission housing (squeeze cast)
Opel engine bracket (HPDC)
Engine support (CRF)
MG-ENGINE
Coordinator: Riso (Denmark)
The objective of the project is to develop
new magnesium alloys with improved hightemperature properties, to develop a
generic engine-block design, and to
manufacture engine-block prototypes. It will
take into consideration traditional casting
processes, but material will be improved by
modification of existing magnesium alloys
to increase the mechanical properties at
high temperature. Gluing and fastening
techniques for high temperature are
fundamental topics, which will be examined
in synergy with project MAGJOIN.
The total cost of the MG-ENGINE project is
4.1 million. The partners are: Volvo (Sweden),
Renault (France), Norsk Hydro (Norway),
Noranda (Canada), Honsel (Germany), CRF
(Italy), DaimlerChrysler (Germany), BMW
(Germany), Adam Opel (Germany).
NANOMAG
The objective of the project is to develop
new corrosion and abrasion resistant
coatings for the protection of magnesium
parts, by using clean, environmentally
friendly and economic processes.
MAGJOIN
This project was completed in 2003 at a
cost of 3 million, and established a stateof-the-art for processes and metallurgy for
mixed joints. A suitable configuration of
weldable joint by laser and arc processes
was described, and some specific joints
were selected for further experimentation.
Study and definition of metallurgical effect
on weldability of mixed joints was
completed, and a list of filler materials
possible for mixed joints was collected.
Filler materials of different chemical
57
composition were produced and transformed

into powder useful for laser welding
application. Filler materials in powder-cored
wire shape were also produced for laser and
arc welding of mixed joints.
A complete and equipped laser-welding toolhead has been designed (on the basis of
precise specifications) and built for
experimental test. Integration of welding
tool-heads in two different places (CRF-Italy
and DLR-Germany) was made, and test
validation carried out with positive response.
Weldability test for mixed joints Mg-Mg and
Al-Mg was carried out by CO2 and Nd-YAG
laser with positive response. Friction stir
welding (FSW) has also been tested for
mixed joints, and weldability was established.
The project has been focused mainly on the
basic research concerning joining of
magnesium cast alloys with magnesium and
aluminium alloys. The aim has been to
develop joining technologies (welding and
adhesive bonding), and related feeding
material and equipment, for mixed joints to
be used in the above-mentioned projects
(and also in other industrial sectors) for
component development and manufacturing.
MAGNEXTRUSCO
Coordinator: Audi AG (Germany)
The project aims to develop a new process
for the production of lightweight, costeffective and safe magnesium structures,
based on the hydrostatic extrusion principle.
One section of the MAGNEXTRUSCO
project focuses on the development of an
efficient process for magnesium extrusion,
including development of improved alloys
and billets as well as the study of processing
techniques. The expertise on joining of
magnesium structural parts will be obtained
from the recently started MAGJOIN project.
The exchange of know-how is secured,
58
as the coordinator of the MAGJOIN project

also participates in this project. The other
section of the MAGNEXTRUSCO project
focuses on the design and development of
lightweight magnesium structures for
transport purposes.
The most interactive parts of the project are
the alloy and billet preparation development,
the study of the processing techniques, and
the structural integrity assessment, which
will provide feedback for further research.
This approach has been chosen to secure
the most optimal outcome of the project, as
it considers the whole chain from material
production and processing to end-use.
Total project funding is 2.5 million, with the
ECs contribution being provided under the
GROWTH programme. Coordinated by Audi
AG, the consortium comprises nine partners,
including IBF, GKSS, Boliden, Rond, UUKV,
IRF and TNO.
8.2
Additional projects
Following is a list of some of the main

projects involving the mission hosts:
LKR
MMC pistons (ALICE)
Co-extrusion of magnesium core with
aluminium outer layer (cooperation
with EADS)
Round-robin on recycling of magnesium
(Noranda Tech Centre, BMW, Magnola)
Major lightweighting project starting
in 2005
IW, University of Hannover

EU project EUROMAGUPCASTER to
develop a continuous casting technique
for magnesium, and numerical
simulation model
Ultralight parts in magnesium sheet
BMBF-funded project ULM
Project Innovative Mg structures for car

bodies (InMaK) castings and extrusions,
welded. Partners: EADS, Honsel, Ford,
IW, Elisental, Lazer Zentrum Hannover
Meridian
MAGDOOR
New development with Norsk Hydro
engine oil-pan in anti-creep alloy
Crash research MEPROMA. Partners:
Renault, Volvo, Norsk, VW
GKSS
Many international project collaborations:
EU project MAGNEXTRUSCO:
2.5 million. Partners: Audi, IBF, TNO,
GKSS, Boliden, Rond, UUKV, IRF.
Hydrostatic extrusion
EU project MAGFORGE. Partners include
TNO, GKSS, IMA, TU Hamburg, Monash
University (Australia)
Joining: European Fitness for Service
Network (FITNET) (thematic network)
WEL-AIR EU project on laser beam
welding looking at T-joint skin-stringer
EU project Mag for Aero run by
Airbus Ottobrunn
2000 MAGJOIN Joining magnesium

chassis components
2001 MAGNEXTRUSCO magnesium
extrusion process
2001 MG-CHASSIS magnesium
engine support
2002 MG-ENGINE magnesium
engine block
2002 NANOMAG corrosion protection
affordable, sustainable
Networks
Network industrial community for
promotion of light metal research (RWTH
involved)
FITNET EU Fitness for Service
thematic network (GKSS involved)
8.3
Summary and recommendations
It is clear that a significant level of

collaborative and government-funded
research has been undertaken in Europe
over the past five years, in which the UK
has had next-to-zero involvement. This
degree of involvement in EU-funded
programmes is a reflection of the
temporary state of the UK automotive
industry, in terms of financial climate but
also a reflection of the UK in general.
IFAM
MG-CHASSIS: 5.1 million. Partners:
IFAM, CRF, Speedline (withdrew), VW,
Opel, DaimlerChrysler, Chalmers
University, Dead Sea Magnesium, CBF
Darmstadt, Volvo. Ends January 2005
requesting extension
MG-ENGINE
MAGJOIN
MG-CLUSTER for above three projects
(Riso, IFAM, CRF)
CRF
It is also felt that the UK position on

magnesium R&D is unlikely to achieve
levels mirroring Germany without a
significant up-turn or investment from
companies such as Jaguar, Land Rover
and Aston Martin or by Japanese
manufacturers. It is also believed that the
scale of activity does not always bear
fruit, which has been observed by some
of the R&D programmes in Europe. It is
therefore recommended that the UK
should direct its research efforts and
funding strategically in order to achieve
the greatest gains.
1996 MAGDOOR magnesium

door frame
59
It is envisaged that by raising the profile

of magnesium, greater levels of up-take
will be seen, especially under pressures
to continuously reduce harmful emissions
produced by transport. Greater levels of
participation in collaborative R&D will also
follow interest in what potential
magnesium alloys and technologies have
to offer.
60
INDUSTRY PERCEPTIONS AND

TRAINING AND EDUCATION
Beyond technological barriers, which are

being addressed by R&D activities in
Europe, nothing is being done to tackle the
embedded industry perceptions, particularly
relating to the corrosion and flammability of
magnesium. Misperceptions can cause a
greater degree of harm to the growth and
spread of magnesium alloys and related
technologies than mere technological ones.
Preclusion based upon misinformation has
affected the motor industry, but this is not
the same situation in Germany, with endusers and suppliers working closely on
developments in magnesium.
In terms of training and education,
Germany has had no particular training
focus or activities that were raising
magnesiums profile, and the only means of
doing so was through the publication of
research information via the usual channels.
As much of the applied research was being
driven by the end-user, namely vehicle
manufacturers such as VW AG, Audi AG,
BMW Group, DaimlerChrysler and their
suppliers, training and education does not
appear to be an issue for Germanys
automotive sector.
On the whole, the benefits of using

magnesium are relatively well understood in
automotive circles. This knowledge and
acceptance is not mirrored by the rail or
aerospace sectors, that look on magnesium
with a great deal of scepticism. During the
mission, a representative of SZMT made
reference to the fact that when they have
held discussions with members of the rail
industry, the rail industry has mocked them
with statements like, magnesium is
flammable and therefore is not suitable for
rail applications. More success has been
met with proactive aerospace organisations
such as EADS.
This appears, therefore, to be a major
opportunity for the UK. Through appropriate
training and education programmes, greater
awareness of the potential for magnesium
can be achieved to the benefit of the UK.
This may be a key focus for a UK network,
amongst others.
CRFs role on conducting many of the large

EU applied R&D programmes into
magnesium has given them great access to
some of the leading magnesium research in
Europe, and indeed on an international
scale. Due to Fiats links with Meridian
Technologies Inc, via MPI, Fiat group has
been at the forefront of many new
developments and applications of HPDC
magnesium, some of which involved
exploring completely unchartered territory.
61
10
10.1
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
Research
10.2
Industry misconceptions
The mission to Europe confirmed that there

has been a considerable level of research
activity into magnesium, their alloys, new
technologies and applications, especially
automotive applications.
Misconceptions within the automotive, rail

and aerospace industries are still rife, and
could be tackled in a manner so as to
alleviate some of these understandable but
rather primitive fears.
Research has also been conducted at all

levels, from microstructure and texture
control to mechanical performance and
component process developments.
Comments such as Is magnesium that

metal that ignites when exposed to air?
are all too familiar to magnesium
component and materials suppliers.
In particular, Germany was found to be the

centre of a hub for considerable research
effort into magnesium component and
application development which incorporated
a network of some 28 institutes or
universities researching magnesium. This
research network is also strongly allied to
other European organisations through EU
research, and via VWs links to Dead Sea
Magnesium Ltd in Israel, and via GKSS and
its links with LKR in Austria. This level of
focus on magnesium puts Germany as the
world leader in terms of magnesium alloy
and process R&D. CRF were also found to
be at the heart of many developments.
Although very far from the truth, such

misconceptions are very damaging, and
appear to hamper the increase in usage of
magnesium within the automotive and other
industries such as aerospace and rail. We all
remember the science classes at school
where a magnesium strip was ignited and
impressed everyone with its bright light and
intense heat. The truth of the matter is that
magnesium has one of the best heatdissipation qualities of all natural metals, and
is very difficult indeed to ignite. It has passed
all the ignition tests within the automotive
and aircraft industries, without issue.
Interestingly, the significant levels of applied

research in Germany, such as the
development of materials process
technologies, were very well balanced by
fundamental research into alloy and texture
development. Another, key aspect that was
noted was that the Fraunhofer Institutes had
begun to work in close collaboration with
the universities to access core
competencies in more pure or fundamental
research, and therefore offer a more
rounded research package to industry.
62
Provided there is sufficient information in the

public domain for people to make informed
decisions, these misconceptions could be
eradicated, resulting in a thriving magnesium
industry that could provide many solutions to
our future transport needs. It is intended that
a programme be formulated to address these
rather obvious education and training needs.
11
KEY FINDINGS
Casting technologies
Joining technologies and integration
Rheocasting processes show significantly

greater potential to reach market for the
production of structural castings than
thixocasting and thixomoulding
technologies, largely due to cost-related
factors. Pilot-scale trials remain necessary
to achieve implementation readiness for
series production. Two European
technologies show significant promise,
namely the new rheocasting (NRC) and
rheo-diecasting (RDC) processes.
This remains an exciting area, as

developments are essential to enable large
structures or assemblies to be produced,
and next to material price, will govern much
of the total piece cost.

Significant efforts in this field of magnesium
research have enabled a new generation of
high-performance powertrain and drivetrain
components to be produced, and will fuel
further developments.
Surface treatments
A series of new coatings for magnesium
is on the horizon, each with unique
properties. Considerable effort is still
required to improve scale-up of these
technologies, at which point the economics
of using these techniques will become
more desirable. Like joining technologies,
these may become fundamental enabling
technologies for magnesium and its future
growth and diversification.
Wrought magnesium technology

The research to date demonstrates that
magnesium components can readily be
produced. However, the cost of wrought
magnesium remains the greatest barrier to
uptake. For sheet material, this is not likely
to change rapidly, despite technology
developments and the introduction
of innovations.
63
12
RECOMMENDATIONS AND
FOLLOW-UP ACTIONS
How might the UK accelerate the

development and deployment of magnesium
technology, and reduce the technology gap
between the UK and its international rivals
or at least prevent it from growing? These are
key issues, and arising from the mission
there are two key recommendations targeted
at addressing them:
1 Create a network to strengthen the
competitiveness of the UK magnesium
supply base and related industries and
organisations. It is envisaged that this will
be an association of UK companies and
knowledge institutes that would:
Share needs and competencies to
assist both the development and
deployment of magnesium alloys and
technologies for components,
structures and systems
Provide a mechanism to train and
educate the UKs industry, particularly
non-users
Tackle potential legislative or regulatory
measures or barriers
Improve and create better international
linkages, including the host
organisations visited during
this mission
2 Conduct more basic and applied research
in the UK, into the development of:
New magnesium casting alloys
and technologies
New and improved magnesium
joining technologies
Wrought magnesium alloys and
product technologies
Magnesium coating technologies
64
Significant effort has been made to ensure

that this information is disseminated to
other potential industry sectors, which may
ultimately improve the opportunity for
magnesium alloys to be recognised as
suitable materials for lightweight design.
It is aimed that this will continue.
Appendix A
HOST ORGANISATION PROFILES
ARC Leichtmetallkompetenzzentrum
Ranshofen GmbH (LKR)
www.lkr.at
Lamprechtshausenerstrae
Postfach 26
5282 Ranshofen
AUSTRIA
Dr-Ing H Kaufman
Director
T +43 7722 83333 7007
F +43 7722 83333 2
Dipl-Ing Rudolf Gradinger
Head of Lightweight Design
T +43 7722 83333 7007
F +43 7722 83333 2
rudolf.gradinger@arcs.ac.at
LKR Light Metal Competence Centre,
Ranshofen has 40 employees focused on
R&D in light metals, particularly Al and Mg.
LKR, a 100% subsidiary of the Austrian
Research Centres (ARC), provides contract
consultancy and R&D for industry, and has a
turnover of ~5 million. Its three key areas
of competence are materials, processing
technologies, and manufacturing. LKR
emerged from the former research
department of Austria Metall AG (AMAG),
the leading national aluminium-processing
company, and is therefore proficient in
working on light metals.
BMW Group
www.bmwgroup.com
FIZ Research & Innovation Centre
Munich
GERMANY
Dr-Ing A Istrate
Innovationsingenieur
T +49 89 382 39123
F +49 89 382 30417
adrian.istrate@bmw.de
Some 5,000 researchers, engineers and
technicians work at the FIZ, although BMW
Group employs over 105,000 people in
various countries globally.
BMW Group is the only global manufacturer
of automobiles and motorcycles that
concentrates entirely on premium standards
and outstanding quality for all its brands and
across all relevant segments. BMW
recognises the need for R&D, which is
demonstrated through its products. The
emphasis on R&D is also demonstrated by
this companys R&D spend, which has been
above 2 million for the last two consecutive
years, slightly above 10% of profit.
65
Foundry Institute RWTH-Aachen

www.gi.rwth-aachen.de
GKSS Research Centre

www.gkss.de
Gieerei-Institut
Intzestrae 5
D-52072 Aachen
GERMANY
Institute for Materials Research

Centre for Magnesium Technology
Max-Planck-Str
D-21502 Geesthacht
GERMANY
Prof Dr-Ing Andreas Buehrig-Polaczek

Dr-Ing Martin Fehlbier
Chief Engineer
T +49 241 80 95241
F +49 241 80-92276
m.fehlbier@gi.rwth-aachen.de
Aachen University has ~29,000 students,
including 6,500 foreign students from 100
countries, and has 260 departments and
institutes. Much of the focus of the Foundry
Institute is on die-casting, investment
casting, numerical simulation techniques,
and alloy and material developments. The
institute has 58 scientists, 31 technicians,
and 80 student workers who contribute to
institute activities as part of their course.
Prof Dr Karl Ulrich Kainer

Head, Centre for Magnesium Technology
T +49 4152 872 590
F +49 4152 872 636
karl.kainer@gkss.de
GKSS is a large research centre with an
annual budget of 75 million, of which
58 million is provided directly by the
German government, 16 million by
public-funded (EU) projects and 1.8 million
by industry. GKSS employs 750 staff.
The Centre for Magnesium Technology is
headed by Professor Karl Kainer, a central
figure in the magnesium world, who also
coordinates the InnoMagTec programme.
The Centre has 36 staff, including 10 PhDs,
and an annual budget of 1.9 million, of
which 25% is from third-party funding.
Core areas of research include:
Development of new cast and
wrought alloys
Optimisation of known and newly
developed processing routes for
commercial and new alloys
Microstructure, properties and modelling
Introduction of magnesium in combination
with other materials
66
Salzgitter AG
(Meeting at GKSS. Co-host with GKSS)
www.salzgitter-ag.de
www.szmt.de
(SZMT)
Eisenhttenstrae 99
38239 Salzgitter
GERMANY
Dr Peter Juchmann
Managing Director
T +49 5341 21 39 57
F +49 160 47 12 490
juchmann.p@salzgitter-ag.de
As a young subsidiary of Salzgitter AG,
(SZMT) is dealing with the development,
production, application and sales of
high-quality magnesium flat-rolled products.
The company offers an efficient technology
and material partnership for product
development and series applications.
IFAM
www.ifam.fhg.de
Fraunhofer-Institut fr Fertigungstechnik und
Angewandte Materialforschung
Wiener Strae 12
D-28359 Bremen
GERMANY
Mr Franz-Josef Woestmann
Head of Department Casting Technology
T +49 421 2246 225
F +49 421 2246 77 225
woe@ifam.fhg.de
Fraunhofer IFAM offers R&D services,
optimisation of casting processes,
and technology transfer in the following
areas of technology:
HPDC (hot and cold chamber)
Thixocasting
Squeeze casting
IFAM has recently installed new die-casting
equipment and is looking to engage in new
collaborative R&D programmes.
67
Meridian Magnesium Products of Italy srl

(MPI)
www.meridian-mag.com/FacilityNav.html?MPI
Centro Ricerche Fiat (CRF)

(Co-host with Meridian MPI)
www.crf.it
Via Glair 41
11029 Verres
ITALY
Strada Torino 50
10043 Orbassano (TO)
ITALY
Marco Parma
Plant and Business Unit Manager
T +39 0125 922 301
F +39 0125 922 211
mparma@meridian-mag.com
Silvio Corrias
Head of Materials Engineering Department
Advanced Process Technologies
T +39 011 9083 354
F +39 011 9083 666
silvio.corrias@crf.it
The MPI plant started production of

die-casting in 1996, and today has
~250 employees working within this
modern 135,000 ft2 facility. The impressive
MPI plant boasts 13 die-casting cells:
1
1
4
7
x
x
x
x
420 ton
900 ton
1,500 ton
2,500 ton
At MPI, magnesium components such as

IPs, cross-car beams, seat frames and
steering column brackets are produced for
the automotive industry using HPDC
technology. Key customers include Fiat
Auto, Jaguar, BMW, DaimlerChrysler,
Lear and Opel.
68
CRF was founded in 1976 as an engineering

centre providing R&D services to each of
the different companies within the Fiat
Group. Today, although the links to Fiat Auto,
Iveco, CNH and other Fiat-owned
organisations remain as strong as ever,
Fiat now places greater emphasis on
collaborative business-to-business research.
CRF works with an extremely wide range of
organisations, including those belonging to
other sectors, such as railway, marine,
aerospace, space and military.
CRF has some 930 employees including
both researchers and other staff. CRF also
boasts an annual turnover of 120 million
and develops more than 450 products and
techniques annually. To date, CRF has
developed over 1,150 patents and awaits
the approval of a further 850.
Appendix B
MISSION TEAM DETAILS
The mission team comprised nine delegates from the UK, listed in Exhibit B.1. Further details are given on
the following pages.
Name
Original
Organisation
AZ31Location
AZ31
AZ31
Representing
AZ31
Dr Tim Wilks
Magnesium Elektron
Manchester
Materials supplier
Mr Steve Brown
Meridian Technologies
Sutton-in-Ashfield
Tier 1/2 supplier (die-castings)
Dr Steve Hutchins
Keronite
Cambridge
Coatings technology supplier
Mr Rob Butler
Superform Aluminium
Worcester
Tier 1/2 supplier (SPF pressings)
Prof Z Fan
BCAST (Brunel University)
Uxbridge
Academia
Dr Geoff Scamans
Innoval Technology
Banbury
Technology consultancy
Dr Roger Darlington
Faraday Advance
Nuneaton/Oxford
Mission coordinator
Dr Martin Kemp
DTI Global Watch Service
Melton Mowbray
Government agency
Mr Frank Rott
London
Government agency
Exhibit B.1 Mission team overview
Exhibit B.2 Mission team at Meridian MPI, Verres, Italy
69
Dr Tim Wilks
Technical Manager (UK)
Magnesium Elektron Ltd (MEL)
Mr Steve Brown
Business Development Manager
Meridian Technologies Inc (UK)
PO Box 23
Swinton
Manchester
M27 8DD
UK
www.magnesium-elektron.com
Orchard Way
Calladine Business Park
Sutton-in-Ashfield
Nottinghamshire
NG17 1JU
UK
www.meridian-mag.com
Magnesium Elektron, a division of Luxfer

Group, is a dedicated service organisation
specialising in the development,
manufacture and supply of magnesium
products and services to technology
industries worldwide.
Since the company first began processing
magnesium in 1936, its team has built an
enviable reputation for innovation, built upon
a relentless passion to push the
metallurgical boundaries of magnesium alloy
technology. The aim is to build lasting
relationships with its clients by working with
them, as a partner of choice, to achieve their
operational objectives.
The company is based in Manchester, UK,
but has satellite plants in North America and
Europe. It employs 640 people worldwide,
with 186 in Manchester.
70
Full service design and manufacture of

magnesium high-pressure die-castings.
These castings can be structural or nonstructural. Meridian presently supplies 100%
of its services to the automotive industry.
Meridian Technologies (UK)
Employees: 30
Annual turnover: ~15 million
Machine size: 3,200 t (largest European
magnesium casting machine)
Dr Stephen Hutchins
Commercial Director
Keronite Ltd
Mr Rob Butler
Development Manager
Superform Aluminium
Granta Park
Great Abington
Cambridge
CB1 6GP
UK
www.keronite.com
Cosgrove Close
Blackpole
Worcester
WR3 8UA
UK
www.superform-aluminium.com
Keronite Ltd was incorporated as a limited

company in March 2000 to commercialise
the Keronite surface treatment technology
a unique plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO)
process for light metal alloys.
Manufacturer of superplastically formed

sheet aluminium components. Products
include automotive panels, aerospace
details, rail carriage structures, and body
scanner ends. To date, these products have
been largely made in aluminium alloys.
In addition to its own in-house production

facilities for short-run or highly specialised
jobs, Keronite Ltd sells licences to coatings
companies and to OEMs wishing to use the
technology for volume production. It not only
provides the know-how to its licensees, but
also manufactures and supplies the
necessary machinery and associated
chemicals. The company has sold licences
and installed processing equipment in
Europe, North America and Asia.
Originally, Superform Aluminium was a

TI/British Aluminium Company which became
part of British ALCAN, and is now wholly
owned by Luxfer Group. The company is
mirrored by Superform USA California.
Superform Aluminium has 85 employees
and an annual turnover of ~10 million.
Today the company has two wholly-owned

subsidiaries: Isle Coat Ltd and ICS
Systems. Isle Coat owns the IP relating to
the unique Keronite process. ICS Systems
not only supplies the processing equipment
for the production of Keronite coatings but
also offers metal finishing equipment
system design services, as well as a wide
range of standard and custom-built
rectifiers, heating systems, plating barrels
and other accessories.
Keronite Ltd has 18 employees and an
annual turnover of 2.2 million.
71
Professor Zhongyun Fan

Director
BCAST (Brunel Centre for Advanced
Solidification Technology)
Brunel University
Uxbridge
Middlesex
UB8 3PH
UK
www.brunel.ac.uk/research/bcast
Brunel University has 15,000 staff and
students, and has an annual turnover of
22.2 million.
BCAST is an academic research centre
focusing on both theoretical and technological
research on solidification. It has 18 research
staff, the majority of whom are working on
research projects related to magnesium.
72
Dr Geoff Scamans
Principal Scientist
Innoval Technology Ltd
Beaumont Close
Banbury
Oxfordshire
OX16 1TQ
UK
www.innovaltec.com
Innoval Technology Ltd is a materials
consultancy that specialises in light metal
production and utilisation in automotive,
architectural and packaging applications.
Formed in 2003, the company presently has
29 employees and an annual turnover of
2.7 million (2003).
Dr Roger Darlington
(Mission Coordinator)
Faraday Advance
Begbroke Business & Science Park
Sandy Lane
Yarnton
Oxford
OX5 1PF
UK
www.faraday-advance.net
Faraday Advance one of 24 Faraday
Partnerships is dedicated to improving the
competitiveness of UK industry through
more effective interactions between the
Science, Engineering and Technology (SET)
base in advanced materials and technologies
for the automotive and aerospace industries.
With six employees, it has an annual
turnover of 1.5 million.
Dr Martin Kemp
International Technology Promoter
Advanced Materials, Europe
Pera Innovation Park
Melton Mowbray
Leicestershire
LE13 0PB
UK
www.globalwatchonline.com/itp
The International Technology Promoters (ITP)
network, funded through the DTI Global
Watch Service and managed by Pera
Innovation Ltd, is designed to facilitate
internationally based partnerships. The role
of the 18 ITPs is to provide direct assistance
to UK companies in order to raise
awareness of, and provide access to,
technology-based opportunities with the
worlds leading investors in R&D.
ITP support ranges from providing
straightforward information and referrals to
more in-depth assistance, perhaps involving
the setting up of licensing arrangements, or
guidance in the early stages of the transfer
of a product, technology, process or quality
improvement technique.
73
Mr Frank Rott
Assistant Director, Head
151 Buckingham Palace Road
London
SW1W 9SS
UK
www.dti.gov.uk
www.globalwatchonline.com
The DTIs Global Watch Service provides
support dedicated to helping UK
businesses improve their competitiveness
by identifying and accessing innovative
technologies and practices from overseas.
The Service comprises:
INFORMATION a unique website
delivering immediate and innovative
support to UK companies; plus a free
monthly magazine showcasing the latest
technologies and best practices from
around the world.
MISSIONS enabling small groups of
UK experts to visit leading overseas
technology organisations to learn vital
lessons about innovation and its
implementation to benefit entire
industries and individual organisations.
SECONDMENTS helping SMEs to send
employees abroad or receive key people
from overseas, secondments are an
effective way of acquiring knowledge,
skills, technologies and connections.
TECHNOLOGY PARTNERING free,
flexible and direct assistance delivered to
UK companies by a network of 18
International Technology Promoters (ITPs),
providing support ranging from information
and referrals to more in-depth assistance.
74
Appendix C
LIST OF EXHIBITS
Exhibit
Page
Caption
2.1
Mission team at BMW (FIZ), Munich
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
3.10
3.11
3.12
3.13
3.14
3.15
10
12
13
14
15
15
15
16
17
18
19
19
21
22
22
HPDC cold-chamber process

New rheocasting (NRC) process
Mission team at the Foundry Institute, RWTH Aachen
Rheo-container process (RCP)
Rheocasting using cooling channel
Cooling channel rheocasting grain morphology
Thixocasting process
Thixocasting facility at the Foundry Institute
Magnesium-MMC infiltrated foam
Rheo-diecasting (RDC) process
ASTM magnesium die-casting alloy systems and relative performance
Performance drivers for magnesium alloy development
CO2-snow magnesium melt cover gas development
Magnesium up-caster used in EUROMAGUPCASTER
Magnesium foam production by low-pressure die-casting (LPDC)
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
4.9
25
26
27
28
29
29
30
31
32
Process window for indirect extrusion of AZ31

Hydrostatic extrusion process
LKR Take-Off project: magnesium PSU rail designs investigated
VW 1-litre car, incorporating wrought and cast magnesium
Anisotropy of magnesium sheet AZ31
Typical mechanical properties of magnesium sheet AZ31
Hot-stamped magnesium prototype parts (SZMT and IFUM Hannover)
Influence of lubrication on rolling magnesium sheet
Forged magnesium demonstration parts
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.8
5.9
33
35
35
36
37
37
38
38
39
HPDC cross-car beam displaying high levels of part and function integration
InMaK: applied research into the manufacture of magnesium structures
Laser welding of magnesium sheet: AZ31 (2-mm thick), 7 m/min, 3.3 kW
Friction stir welded (FSW) Mg and Mg:Al sheets
Cold riveting of AZ31 extrusions, and finite element process simulation
LKR co-extrusion research
Conventional steel threaded insert used with magnesium HPDCs
New thread-forming screw for fastening to magnesium castings
New metal foam threaded-insert technology
75
Exhibit
Page
Caption
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6
6.7
6.8
40
41
42
42
42
45
45
46
Corrosion performance of various magnesium and aluminium alloys

PAPVD coating process
PECVD coating process
Sol-gel coating process
Keronite (PEO) process
Electrochemical pen used at GKSS to determine corrosion potential
Coating evaluation using electrochemical, scanning pen
Open circuit potential scan using electrochemical pen to assess free
corrosion potential of FSW of AZ31 magnesium to AA5083 aluminium
7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5
7.6
50
51
52
53
53
53
Western European consumption of magnesium for die-castings

North and South American consumption of magnesium for die-castings
Mercedes-Benz 7G-Tronic seven-speed automatic transmission
Traditional HPDC magnesium component applications
HPDC magnesium seat frame
Magnesium die-cast tailgate inner component and mission team at GKSS
8.1
56
EU-funded R&D projects for structural magnesium
B.1
B.2
69
69
Mission team overview

Mission team at Meridian MPI, Verres, Italy
76
Appendix D
GLOSSARY
A
m
2D
3D
Al
AHC
AMC
Ar
ARC
ASTM
BCAST
BIW
BMBF
C
Ca
CFK
CH3OH
CO2
Cr
Cr6
CRF
CTE
CTI
Cu
CVD
DC
dm
DTI
EADS
EB
EC
ELV
EU
F
Fe
FEA
FP4
FP5
FP6
FSW
ft
H2
microamp
micrometre
two-dimensional
three-dimensional
aluminium
AHC-Oberflchentechnik GmbH (Germany)
Australian Magnesium Corp Ltd
argon
Austrian Research Centres
American Society for Testing and Materials (USA)
Brunel Centre for Advanced Solidification Technology (UK)
(automobile) body-in-white
Bundesministerium fr Bildung und Forschung (Germany)
degrees Celsius
calcium
carbon fibre composite
methanol
carbon dioxide
chromium
hexavalent chromium
Centro Ricerche Fiat (Italy)
coefficient of thermal expansion
Castings Technology International (UK)
copper
chemical vapour deposition
(1) direct-chill (casting); (2) direct current
decimetre
Department of Trade and Industry (UK)
European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company NV (Netherlands)
electron beam
European Commission
end-of-life vehicle
European Union
fluorine
iron
finite element analysis
Framework Programme 4 (EU)
friction stir welding
foot
hydrogen
77
H2O
HAZ
HDO
HIP
HPDC
IFAM
IFUM
IMA
IP
IPR
ITP
IW
kg
km
kt
kW
LAFS
LCA
Li
LKR
LPDC
m
MEL
mg
Mg
Mg2Si
MHz
MIG
min
mm
MMC
MMW
Mn
MPa
mpg
MPI
mpy
MRI
mV
NaCl
Nd
NRC
NVEB
O2
OCH3
OEM
PAPVD
PECVD
78
water
heat-affected zone
HDO Druckgu- und Oberflchentechnik GmbH (Germany)
hot isostatic press
high-pressure die-casting
Institut fr Fertigungstechnik und Angewandte Materialforschung (Germany)
Institut fr Umformtechnik und Umformmaschinen (Germany)
International Magnesium Association (USA)
(1) instrument panel; (2) intellectual property
intellectual property rights
International Technology Promoter (DTI)
Institut fr Werkstoffkunde (Germany)
kilogram
kilometre
kilotonne
kilowatt
laser assisted friction stir (welding)
life-cycle assessment
lithium
Leichtmetallkompetenzzentrum Ranshofen GmbH (subsidiary of ARC)
low-pressure die-casting
metre
Magnesium Elektron Ltd (UK)
milligram
magnesium
magnesium silicide
megahertz
metal inert gas (welding)
minute
millimetre
metal-matrix composite
molten-metal-water
manganese
megapascal
miles per gallon
Meridian Magnesium Products of Italy srl
mils per year (mil = milli-inch = 0.001 inch)
Magnesium Research Institute (Israel)
millivolt
sodium chloride
neodymium
new rheocasting
non-vacuum electron beam (welding)
oxygen
methoxy group
original equipment manufacturer
plasma-assisted physical vapour deposition
plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition
PEO
PMZ
PRC
PSU
PVD
R&D
RCP
RDC
RE
RSW
RTO
RWTH
Sc
SF6
Si
SiO2
SME
SO2
SPF
SPR
SSM
SZMT
t
Ti
TiH2
TIG
UK
ULM
US(A)
V
VDC
VICT
VW
y
YAG
Zn
Zr
plasma electrolytic oxidation

partially melted zone
People's Republic of China
passenger stowage unit
physical vapour deposition
research and development
rheo container process
rheo-diecasting
rare earth (elements) = lanthanides
resistance spot welding
research and technology organisation
Rheinisch-Westflische Technische Hochschule (Germany)
scandium
sulphur hexafluoride
silicon
silicon dioxide
small or medium enterprise
sulphur dioxide
superplastic forming
self-pierce riveting
semi-solid metal
Salzgitter Magnesium-Technologie GmbH (Germany)
tonne (= 1,000 kg)
titanium
titanium hydride
tungsten inert gas (welding)
United Kingdom
Ultra Light parts in Magnesium (project, BMBF)
United States (of America)
(1) vanadium; (2) volt
vertical downward casting
Volvo indoor-cyclic corrosion test
Volkswagen
year
yttrium-aluminium-garnet
zinc
zirconium
79
80
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GLOBAL WATCH MISSION REPORT

MAG TECH 1: Magnesium

Global Watch Missions

The DTI drives our ambition of

By stimulating debate and informing industrial

We champion UK business at home

MAG TECH 1: Magnesium

Novel casting technologies

Magnesium surface treatments 40

Potential future applications

R&D funding and

Industry perceptions and

The mission team would like to extend their

The new millennium has seen major growth

It is clear from the report that magnesium

Magnesium is now becoming the material

The report provides an overview of the

This mission, which took place during 27

In the manufacture of transport, weight

The key interest in magnesium for

Outside the UK, there has been significant

Germany centre for large magnesium

These countries were identified as having a

High-purity magnesium alloys are now

Specific objectives of the mission were to:

Identify and discuss technology barriers and

The dissemination of this information to UK

The mission took place during

ARC LKR, Ranshofen (Austria)

During the visit at RWTH Aachen, the meeting

Whilst the mission team met with the major

The mission team

A select number of individuals were chosen

Exhibit 2.1 Mission team at BMW (FIZ), Munich

NOVEL CASTING TECHNOLOGIES

Currently, the majority of components that

(AlSi17) low-pressure die-casting (LDPC) for

The current applications of magnesium in

The hot-chamber process is suitable for

In the thixocasting process, nondendritic

The general understanding is that

LKR new rheocasting

The currently most popular rheocasting

Controlled cooling, solidification and growth of nuclei

Die casting or squeeze casting

Exhibit 3.3 Mission team at the Foundry Institute, RWTH Aachen

Although the NRC process remains at

The mission team had a tour of RWTH

RWTH Aachen rheo-container

Due to the issues and limitations of

Controlled cooling, solidification

Die casting or squeeze casting

shot sleeve. The transfer is likely to cause

RWTH Aachen rheocasting

RWTH Aachen has carried out some fairly

delivering reproducible results. The spherical

RWTH Aachen thixomoulding

Whilst thixomoulding of magnesium

RWTH Aachen thixocasting

The outline process for thixocasting is

Exhibit 3.6 Cooling channel rheocasting grain

Exhibit 3.7 Thixocasting process

Exhibit 3.8 Thixocasting facility at the Foundry Institute

The Foundry Institute has been active in