Research Progress and Application Prospects of Specialized Flux for Magnesium Alloys

Fluxes are often used in forming processes such as refining and casting of crude magnesium and magnesium alloys, which can improve the casting quality through effects such as slag formation, fluxing, flame retardancy and modification. The fluxes are important raw materials in the entire life cycle process of manufacturing-service-circulation of magnesium alloy at present, and have a huge impact on the alloy quality. For magnesium alloys with different alloy compositions and impurity, the effects of fluxes with different compositions vary significantly. Therefore, the clarification and systematic investigation of the action mechanism of fluxes are of great significance for improving the quality of magnesium alloys, as well as the development and industrial application of magnesium alloy products. The effects and mechanisms of each component of fluxes in application backgrounds such as crude magnesium refining, magnesium alloy melting and casting were systematically summarized, and the application difficulties and measures of special fluxes in aspects such as Fe removal,rare earth alloying and calcium-containing magnesium alloys casting were elaborated. The research demands in aspects such as the mechanism of flux action, application quality control, special material scenarios, recycling and reuse, as well as the promotion of standardization were prospected.