In spite of the fact that in most applications, magnesium alloys are intended for operation in environments with room temperature, these
alloys are subject to elevated temperature and oxidizing atmosphere in various stages of preparation (casting, welding, thermal treatment).
At present, the studies focus on development of alloys with magnesium matrix, intended for plastic forming. The paper presents results of
studies on oxidation rate of WE43 and ZRE1 magnesium foundry alloys in dry and humidified atmosphere of N2+1%O2. Measurements of
the oxidation rate were carried out using a Setaram thermobalance in the temperature range of 350-480°C. Corrosion products were
analyzed by SEM-SEI, BSE and EDS. It was found that the oxide layer on the WE43 alloy has a very good resistance to oxidation. The
high protective properties of the layer should be attributed to the presence of yttrium in this alloy. On the other hand, a porous, two-layer
scale with a low adhesion to the substrate forms on the ZRE1 alloy. The increase in the sample mass in dry gas is lower than that in
humidified gas.
On the basis of induction heating, radiation heating and liquid nitrogen refrigeration, high-temperature, medium-temperature, normal-temperature and low-temperature heating/refrigeration furnaces were designed, respectively. An apparatus with a wide temperature range and high accuracy applied to test oxidation resistance of materials has been developed based on the thermogravimetric method and the heat transfer principle. The apparatus consists of four heating/cooling systems, a specimen fixture positioning unit, a laser positioning unit, vertical and horizontal moving guide rails, and a high-precision weighing balance. The apparatus, based on the thermogravimetric method, is able to test oxidation resistance of materials. In the test, the temperature range was −180∼3000◦C (the highest temperature is determined by material properties). The temperature control accuracy was ±5◦C. The accuracy of on-line weighing was ±0:1 mg. The measurement uncertainty was 0.2 mg. Compared with other relevant devices, this apparatus has its own advantages: simple operation, wide heating/cooling temperature range, sufficient specimen heating, high sensitivity and precision, and short heating/cooling time. The experimental results show that the developed apparatus presented in this study not only can be used for isothermal thermogravimetric tests, but also for thermal cycling tests and multi-step oxidation tests. With the effective integration of multiple heating apparatus and refrigeration apparatus, the apparatus breaks through the limitations of the heating/cooling temperature range of the existing devices, accomplishes the high-precision oxidation resistance test of materials in a wide temperature range, and will play a great role in improving the research of materials.