Enhancing the microstructural and mechanical response of a Mg/SiC formulation by the method of reducing extrusion temperature S.C.V. Lim, M. Gupta* Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore 119260 (Refereed) Received 6 April 2001; accepted 13 August 2001 Abstract In the present study, a magnesium-based composite with about 11.5 wt% of SiC particulates was synthesized using an innovative disintegrated melt deposition technique followed by extrusion at different temperatures of 350, 250, 150, and 100°C. Microstructural characterization of the extruded samples showed an increase in alignment of SiC particulates in the direction of extrusion, reduction in number of SiC particulate clusters, and improved distribution of the SiC particulates as the extrusion temperature decreased. Good interfacial integrity and minimal porosity was also observed for all the samples. Mechanical properties characterization revealed that a decrease in extrusion temperature from 350 to 100°C lead to a significant increase in the hardness, elastic modulus, 0.2% yield strength, while the average UTS and ductility remained unaffected. An attempt is made to correlate the effect of decreasing the extrusion temperature with the microstructural and mechanical behavior of the composite. © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: A. Composites; D. Microstructure; D. Mechanical behavior 1. Introduction Magnesium is one of the lightest structural elements that has the potential to be used in general and specialized applications. With its density 35% lower than aluminum, it carries * Corresponding author. Tel.: +65-874-6358; Fax: +65-779-1459. E-mail address: mpegm@nus.edu.sg (M. Gupta). Pergamon Materials Research Bulletin 36 (2001) 2627–2636 0025-5408/01/$ – see front matter © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S0025-5408(01)00750-4