Magnesium

The use of light structural materials has become inevitable in our modern world. The increasing need for improved fuel economy has created a huge interest in lightweight automotive structures, which can be best realized through innovative design strategies directed toward weight saving and by employing lightweight materials, such as aluminum and magnesium that have excellent strength to weight ratios. Our scientific research is concerned with the science and engineering of magnesium and its alloys, with an emphasis on the mechanical properties of this promising light metal and its use as structural material. In this context we focus on understanding the deformation mechanisms, recrystallization and grain growth annealing phenomena, as well as the crystallographic texture evolution in Mg alloys, which dictate their mechanical behavior, performance and operational stability. We are also interested in various concepts of microstructure engineering and alloy development with recent focus on rare-earth (RE) elements, and alternative non-RE metals in order to improve the cold formability and elevated temperature strength of commercial magnesium alloys.

Methods
  • state-of-the-art experimental and theoretical methods
  • EBSD, TEM, X-ray diffraction, atomistic and polycrystal plasticity modeling
  • 3D microstructure characterization techniques
Publications
  • S. S. Nene, B. P. Kashyap, N. Prabhu, Y. Estrin, T. Al-Samman, Biocorrosion and Biodegradation Behavior of ultralight Mg-4Li-1Ca (LC41) Alloy in Simulated Body Fluid for Degradable Implant Applications, in: Journal of Materials Science 50 (2015), 3041–3050.
  • K. D. Molodov, T. Al-Samman, D. A. Molodov, G. Gottstein, Mechanisms of exceptional ductility of magnesium single crystal during deformation at room temperature: Multiple twinning and dynamic recrystallization, in: Acta Materialia 76 (2014), 314-330.
  • I. Basu, T. Al-Samman, Triggering rare earth texture modification in magnesium alloys by addition of zinc and zirconium, in: Acta Materialia 67 (2014), 116-133.
  • J. Hirsch, T. Al-Samman, Superior light metals by texture engineering: Optimized aluminum and magnesium alloys for automotive applications, in: Acta Materialia 61 (2013), 818-843.
  • B. Joni, T. Al-Samman, S. G. Chowdhury, G. Csiszar, T. Ungar, Dislocation densities and prevailing slip-system types determined by X-ray line profile analysis in a textured AZ31 magnesium alloy deformed at different temperatures, in: Journal of Applied Crystallography 46 (2013), 55-62.
  • T. Al-Samman, K. D. Molodov, D. A. Molodov, G. Gottstein, S. Suwas, Softening and dynamic recrystallization in magnesium single crystals during c-axis compression, in: Acta Materialia 60 (2012), 537-545.
  • J. J. Jonas, S. Mu, T. Al-Samman, G. Gottstein, L. Jiang, E. Martin, The role of strain accommodation during the variant selection of primary twins in magnesium, in: Acta Materialia 59 (2011), 2046-2056.
  • T. Al-Samman, X. Li, S. G. Chowdhury, Orientation dependent slip and twinning during compression and tension of strongly textured magnesium AZ31 alloy, in: Materials Science and Engineering A 527 (2010), 3450-3463.
  • T. Al-Samman, Comparative study of the deformation behavior of hexagonal magnesium-lithium alloys and a conventional magnesium AZ31 alloy, in: Acta Materialia 57 (2009), 2229-2242.
  • T. Al-Samman, G. Gottstein, Dynamic recrystallization during high temperature deformation of magnesium, in: Materials Science and Engineering A 490 (2008), 411-420.