Microstructure evolution and corrosion behavior of TIG welded joint of a new Mg–Gd–Nd–Zn–Zr alloy during post-weld heat treatment

The corrosion behavior of the tungsten inert gas (TIG) welded Mg–3Nd–3Gd–0.2Zn–0.5Zr alloy with different post-weld heat treatments was systematically investigated. The results show that the corrosion resistance of the sand-cast base material (BM) was inferior to that of the fusion zone (FZ), which was attributed to the larger grain size and exacerbated galvanic corrosion caused by coarser Mg₃(Nd, Gd) eutectic phases and numerous β precipitates. It is found that post-weld solid-solution (T4) treatment could significantly enhance the corrosion resistance of the joint due to the dissolution of the cathodic second phases and the denser protective film abundant in RE oxides generated in corrosive solution. The precipitation of nanosized phases and Zn–Zr clusters would slightly increase the susceptibility to localized corrosion of the peak-aged (T6) joint. As the main corrosion products, MgO and Mg(OH)₂ are distributed throughout the whole corrosion film, while RE oxides and RE hydroxides are mainly distributed in the inner layer, which can be explained by inward oxidation and replacement reactions between RE elements and MgO/Mg(OH)₂. Based on the composition and structure of the corrosion product film, a physical model has been proposed for depicting the microstructure evolution associated with the corresponding corrosion behavior of the joints. This work could promote the applications of welded Mg–RE alloy joint in some corrosion environments.