Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	EP/C002210/1
Title:	Designed Microstructures for Wrought Magnesium Alloys
Principal Investigator:	Robson, Professor J
Other Investigators:	Prangnell, Professor P Lorimer, Professor G
Researcher Co-Investigators:	Dr KB Hyde
Project Partners:	Magnesium Elektron Ltd (UK)
Department:	Materials
Organisation:	University of Manchester, The
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 February 2005	Ends:	31 January 2008	Value (£):	238,486
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Materials Characterisation
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Manufacturing
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
Magnesium has the lowest density of all the structural metals, and is thus attractive as a lightweight substitute for aluminium and steel. The automotive industry, in particular, is seeking to increase its use of magnesium to save weight and obtain increased fuel efficiency, reduced emissions, and improved performance. However, for structural components, wrought magnesium products, such as extrusions or sheets, do not currently have good enough mechanical properties to substitute effectively for aluminium and steel. A key reason for this is that current magnesium alloys are not optimized for thermomechanical processing. Such optimization is hindered by a lack of basic scientific understanding of how alloy design, processing conditions, and microstructural evolution are related in magnesium alloys.This research will apply state of the art analysis techniques to address this gap in understanding. Promising strategies, proven in other alloy systems, for control of microstructural evolution will be investigated and evaluated. New microstructural models will be developed to enable quantitative relationships to be derived between alloy composition, processing, and microstructure. The understanding and models obtained through this work will lead to new classes of wrought magnesium alloys, specifically designed for thermomechanical processing, with the expectation of a step change improvement in properties and performance.
Key Findings
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Organisation Website:	http://www.man.ac.uk