Experimental characterization and atomistic simulation of grain boundary segregation in Mg-Y alloys

• Combined experimental and computational study on Y segregation at grain boundaries. • GB segregation of Y in Mg-Y alloys is independent of GB misorientation angle. • Strong Y segregation at grain boundaries in both low and high Y-containing Mg-alloys. • Y segregation remains after high-temperature annealing heat treatment. As a rare earth solute element in Mg alloys, Y has the beneficial effects of increasing both the strength and the ductility as well as weakening the crystallographic texture. To achieve a more fundamental understanding on how Y addition affects the microstructural evolution and mechanical properties, the Y segregation behavior at grain boundaries was investigated in Mg-1wt.%Y and Mg-7wt.%Y alloys at different conditions. The segregation intensity and its dependence on the grain boundary misorientation angle were experimentally characterized and computationally predicted. Strong segregation at grain boundaries was observed in both low and high Y-containing alloys. Y segregation was found to remain in alloy Mg-7Y after high-temperature annealing heat treatment at 540 °C. No direct correlation between the Y segregation intensity and the grain boundary misorientation angle could be established based on either the experimental characterization or the atomistic simulation with a spectral model. We thus conclude that grain boundary segregation of Y is independent of grain boundary misorientation angle.