A new mode of the discontinuous dissolution reaction in Mg-10 wt.% Al alloy

The occurrence of discontinuous precipitation (DP) and dissolution reactions has been investigated in Mg-10 wt.% Al alloy. The application of a special cyclic heat treatment allowed to observe a new mode of the discontinuous dissolution reaction. The reaction starts preferably and occurs faster at the original locations of the grain boundaries, which is in contrast to the commonly observed behaviour where the reaction occurs, in the early stage, primarily at the reaction front of the former DP colonies. The proposed explanation is attributed to a characteristic movement of the reaction front of the DP colony away from and back to the original location of the grain boundary during subsequent cycles of ageing and dissolution.