Effects of different Nd contents on microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-2Ca alloy were investigated by optical microscope

SEM（scanning electron microscope） and EDS（energy dispersive spectrometer）

XRD（X-ray diffraction） as well as universal tensile testing machine.The results reveal that

with increasing in Nd contents

the grain size in the alloy is obviously refined

however

with Nd content higher than 2%

grain size is increased with the increase of precipitates in the grain boundary

where amounts of acicular Mg-Nd phase are precipitated from the grain.With increasing in Nd contents

tensile strength of the Mg-2Ca alloy is firstly improved and then descended

meanwhile

elongation is decreased

and hardness of the alloy is increased.