Germany and Austria Launch Joint R&D Project on Magnesium

As a recyclable lightweight material, magnesium holds tremendous potential, yet its limited formability has so far restricted its wide industrial applications, particularly in the field of wire production.

An international research project is working to address this challenge through a comprehensive and in-depth study of the calcium-containing magnesium alloy ZAX210. The LKR Leichtmetallkompetenzzentrum Ranshofen at the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) has used simulation-based methods to analyze the evolution of microstructure and texture across the entire process chain from casting to wire drawing. The project’s goals are to develop more efficient and reliable processing techniques, and to open up new fields of application including medical technology and wire-based additive manufacturing.

Formabilityas the Key Challenge

Magnesium is one of the lightest structural metals, offering significant advantages in reducing Carbon emissions and improving energy efficiency in the transportation and industrial sectors. However, due to its hexagonal close-packed (HCP) structure, magnesium has poor formability, which limits its wide industrial use. Especially in complex forming processes and multi-stage process chains, the interaction between temperature, forming speed, stress state and texture evolution can adversely affect process stability and component performance.

In recent years, the formability of magnesium has been significantly improved through novel alloy concepts. In particular, the use of calcium as an alloying element has a positive effect on forming properties and texture development. The Mg-Zn-Al-Ca alloy ZAX210 exhibits better formability than conventional magnesium alloys, which is attributed to its regulatory effect on microstructure and recrystallization. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive understanding of the material behavior of these alloys under practical, industrially relevant process conditions.

New Process Chain for ZAX210 Alloy

The project, titled Material Behavior in the ZAX210 Wire Process Chain, systematically investigates for the first time the manufacturing process of magnesium wire products made from the Mg-Zn-Al-Ca alloy. It focuses on an innovative process chain combining Twin Roll Casting (TRC), Continuous Rotary Extrusion (CRE) and subsequent wire drawing. TRC integrates casting and hot forming into a single process, enabling the production of homogeneous raw materials with an optimized microstructure. CRE is a resource-efficient continuous forming process whose effects on microstructure and texture have not yet been fully investigated.

Through targeted promotion of dynamic recrystallization and controlled texture formation, the project aims to improve formability while maintaining excellent mechanical properties. This will open up new application prospects for magnesium wire, including in medical technology and wire-based additive manufacturing.

LKR’s Contribution: Full-Process Simulation

Austria’s LKR Leichtmetallkompetenzzentrum Ranshofen contributes its years of expertise in forming, microstructure and texture simulation to the project. At the macroscopic level, the center uses customized extrusion and forming models to simulate each forming step in the process chain, enabling systematic analysis of the influence of key process parameters.

“Through this project, we have gained in-depth insights into the interaction between process control, microstructure and texture of magnesium,” said Johannes Kronsteiner, simulation expert and project manager at LKR. “These findings are critical for the economical and reliable use of magnesium alloys such as ZAX210 in the future.”

Cooperation Partners and Funding Sources

The project’s partner is the Institute of Metal Forming (IMF) at Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg in Germany, which contributes its well-established expertise in experimental process development and twin roll casting, and is responsible for the overall coordination of the project.

The project is funded under the WEAVE program of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), with the German Research Foundation (DFG) as the lead applicant, and co-funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG).

Original title: "Germany and Austria Launch Joint R&D Project on Magnesium"

Original link: http://www.chinamagnesium.org/index.php?v=show&cid=113&id=23571