Magnesium is one of the most important non-ferrous metal in engineering and industry. Properties of magnesium and magnesium alloys make them attractive material in most engineering applications. In this article, we will explaşn the production of magnesium, designation of magnesium alloys and properties of magnesium.
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How To Produce Magnesium From Its Natural Source?
The biggest source of magnesium is sea water. As you know that sea water is very abundant. Sea water contains 0.13% of MgCL2. There must be some chemical processes to extract Mg from that natural source. Sea water is mixed with lime-calcium hydroxide(Ca(OH)2), magnesium hydroxide(Mg(OH)2) precipitates as slurry. HCl then reacted with that slurry to obtain much more concentrated MgCl2. And electrolysis is applied to divide Mg and Cl2 gas. Produced chloride gas is then used to obtain concentrated MgCl2.
What Are The Properties Of Magnesium Alloys?
Magnesium itself has no advantageous property. Pure magnesium is a soft metal that is not attractive material for engineering applications. But if magnesium is alloyed with right alloying elements, alloys that have strength as aluminum alloys can be achieved. Also strength-to-weight ratio is superior. Because of that lightweight property, magnesium alloys are used at aircraft components.
How Is The Designation Of Magnesium Alloys?

Code letters that are indicates alloying elements in Magnesium Alloy designations(Fundamentals Of Modern Manufacturing).
The designation of magnesium alloys includes 3-5 alphanumeric code. The first two characters in that code gives the information about, biggest percentage of alloying elements, in decreasing basis. Thelettersare followed by a two-digit number that indicates, respectively, the amounts of the two alloying ingredients to the nearest percent. Also temper specification is used for aluminum, is used for magnesium alloys.
The general information of magnesium alloys can be summarized as above. Do not forget to leavr your comments and questions about ‘magnesium and magnesium alloys’ below!
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