The influence of rare earth (RE) elements on the microstructure and mechanical performance of an extruded ZK60 Mg alloy was studied. Two types of RE elements were added to a ZK60 material and then extruded at a ratio of 18:1. The first new alloy contained 2 wt% Y while the second one was produced using 2 wt% Ce-rich mischmetal. The microstructure, the texture, and the dislocation density in a base ZK60 alloy and two materials with RE additives were studied by scanning electron microscopy, electron backscattered diffraction, and X-ray line profile analysis, respectively. It was found that the addition of RE elements caused a finer grain size, the formation of new precipitates, and changes in the initial fiber texture. As a consequence, Y and Ce-rich RE elements increased the strength and reduced the ductility. The addition of these two types of RE elements to the ZK60 alloy decreased the work hardening capacity and the hardening exponent mainly due to grain refinement.

The effect of rare earth elements Ce and Y addition on microstructure and corrosion behaviour of an extruded ZK60 magnesium alloy was investigated. Materials characterisation was performed using a scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. Corrosion behaviour of ZK60 and ZK60-3x (x = Ce, Y) alloys were evaluated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarisation test. At the end of evaluations, the best corrosion performance was observed for the ZK60 base alloy, due to its microstructure consisting of larger grains and lower volume fraction of second phase particles. On the other hand, the two other alloys suffered from galvanic corrosion rising from their RE-containing particles and the more fraction of high energy grain boundaries acting as possible areas for corrosion initiation.