Microstructural characterization and application of the EBSD technique to describe fatique crack Iniciation and growth on the magnesium alloy WE43 towards aeronautics application

• Grant number: 19/23775-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2020
• End date: January 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Aerospace Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Falcão de Oliveira
• Grantee: Matheus Castaldi Cid
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The growth of the aerospace market brings a boost to the competition between the companies on the aeronautics industry, making them chase for solutions that may reduce operational and production costs. Thus, is possible to observe a growing demand for materials or processes that may reduce the weight of airplanes, and as a result of that, cause a reduction in the use of fuels, contributing to an improvement on its performance and in addition, a decrease on the emission of pollutant gases from combustion. In this way, new ultra-light metal alloys are studied, as an example, the magnesium (Mg) alloy WE43 (Mg-Y-Nd-Zr), which has stability of mechanical properties and creep resistance above 300°C, and more, it has 2/3 of the aluminum (Al) density, whose alloys are commonly used in aircrafts fuselage. In this way, the present work aims to study the influence of rare earth elements addition (Yttrium, Neodymium and Zirconium) in the microstructure and the formation of micromechanisms of fatigue crack growth (in air and saline mist). Optical microscopy (MO) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) on the secondary electron mode (SE), backscattered electrons (BSE) and electrons backscattered diffraction (EBSD), are going to be used as technique to sample microstructural characterization, further, the EBSD mode are also going to be used to study the interaction between the microstructure and the ambient, observing the crack trail. In addition, the cracked surface are going to be analyzed according to a fractographic analysis, as a tool to observe the fatigue failure micromechanisms.