Tests on Magnesium‐Zirconium Alloy Castings: An Account of Experience at Dowty Fuel Systems Ltd. with ZRE 1 Castings

Abstract

THE demands made on equipment for the modern aircraft have been commented on increasingly of recent years, and as with all that goes into aircraft, there is the perennial requirement for minimum weight. With this in mind magnesium‐zirconium alloys have been studied by Dowty Fuel Systems Ltd. for use in such components as the bodies of items of hydraulic equipment. Magnesium alloys in general are very light, having a specific gravity of about 1·8, which is not much more than that of such non‐metallic materials as glass fibre laminates, but their physical properties are rather low, and they are subject to corrosion. However, alloys containing zirconium, such as ZRE 1, are much less liable to micro‐porosity than other magnesium alloys, and have correspondingly improved mechanical properties, apart from the fact that porosity affects directly hydraulic equipment operating at the high pressures now common. In order to assess the suitability of this alloy for such applications a series of tests was carried out to check strength and freedom from porosity. Sand castings were obtained, of fairly large mass relative to the dimensions, the form being shown in FIG. 1. A number of bores were made so as to provide conditions similar to those in a functioning production unit, and porosity and strength checked by static pressure and pulsation tests. Details of the results are given below. Thread shear tests and tests on the use of circlips to retain plugs in the bores were also carried out.

Citation

(1954), "Tests on Magnesium‐Zirconium Alloy Castings: An Account of Experience at Dowty Fuel Systems Ltd. with ZRE 1 Castings", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 26 No. 5, pp. 162-167. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb032426