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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 February 2012
Steel–magnesium alloy laminated composites can be produced by gas-driven pressure infiltration of a molten magnesium alloy between layers of stacked steel sheets followed by directional solidification of the infiltrated magnesium alloy. A key step in the process is ensuring adequate separation and alignment of the steel sheets during the process; this is achieved by introducing small dimples in the steel sheets to hold them apart during infiltration. Advantages of the process are its speed, the defect-free composites it produces, and the fact that, unlike roll-bonded composites, the steel in the composite is in an annealed condition. The ultimate tensile strength of the as-cast laminates, of 260 MPa, obeys the rule of mixtures. The uniform tensile elongation, of around 20%, makes the infiltrated laminates nearly as ductile as the bulk steel it contains, implying that the magnesium alloy in the as-cast laminates has a substantially increased tensile ductility in comparison to the bulk state in a metallurgically equivalent condition.