Who checks structural Integrity of Magnesium Wheels?

Sounds like you'll have an entry for next Friday's art show.

 

When I was a wage slave at the airport, we used Zyglo dye penetrant inspection. Much the same as using Mag Na Flux on ferrous parts. Later they did get ultra sonic equipment which showed hidden voids such as the fan hub that came apart at Oklahoma City.

 

There you go! just what is needed.

 

Wow...it's great to see ONE person on this thread whos head isn't buried in their ***!

To reiterate: Magnesuim corrodes when exposed to atmosphere. The corrosion forms an oxide layer on the surface of the metal. Zyglo will not penetrate this layer.
X ray is a common method to look deep into a part to find discontinuities normally inherent in a part as a result of manufacturing, not through life-cycling (wear). In a Magnesium part, you'll normally find problems starting on the surface, then progressing down into the metal, ie: corrosion pitting propegating into stress fracturing of the metal's lattice, or grain structure.
Hence, you must start at the surface then go from there.
If you want to inspect your Magnesium, then re-read that .pdf that was posted...that surface has to be absolutely (chemically) spotless! This will cost you MUCH MONEY!!!!
Or - you could do an Eddy Current inspection...which will detect ANY surface defect...of ANY kind...without stripping it!

The answer: forget this talk of dye and X Rays, get it Eddy Current tested!

 

This from a Ducati site: http://www.ducati.ms/forums/56-superbikes/86560-magnesium-vs-forged-aluminum-wheels-better-9.html

 

You apparently include yourself a**** those who's "head isn't buried in their ***". Since you don't have your head up your ***, I'm sure you already know what I'm going to say and just forgot.

- Yes, the surface of magnesium corrodes when exposed to the atmosphere. The amount of corrosion will vary depending on what is in that atmosphere(eg. moisture or salt spray). But, there is more than one type of corrosion. Magnesium can also corrode from within, with little or no indication on the surface. And, the surface can corrode under a solid uninterrupted protective layer of urethane or powder coating.

Pure, high purity magnesium has the best corrosion resistance. Unfortunately, pure magnesium isn't very strong. To one degree or another alloying magnesium with other metals increases its tendency to corrode. If the alloying metals are not uniformly dispersion throughout the magnesium that problem may be worsened. But an even bigger problem is unwanted metals and contamination in the alloy. Interaction between alloying metals, and impurities in the metal, can cause galvanic corrosion inside the metal. This was a common problem with old magnesium castings. Because of that, a part can be free of significant surface corrosion, but be seriously deteriorated internally.

Another problem especially common in older magnesium castings was porosity and trapped g***es. Moisture and a number of g***es and contaminants promote the corrosion of magnesium. Expose a porous casting to corrosion promoting elements and the situation is much worse. Not only does that add to the overall corrosion issue, it may also promote and accelerate unseen internal corrosion.

- True that x-ray cannot detect metal fatigue, but it can find hidden areas that have been affected by galvanic corrosion.

- Yes, eddy current inspection works on non-magnetic materials, but the standard/traditional magnetic particle inspection(Magnaflux) someone suggested won't.

By the way Mr. head not in ***, Magnesuim is actually spelled Magnesium, and the correct spelling of propegating is propagating. (After bringing this up I hope I didn't misspell anything.)

I don't claim know all there is to know about this, but I'm pretty sure I don't have my head up my ***. What I do know is from a few deteriorated magnesium parts encountered when restoring old cars; a few problems I have seen happen to others; problems experienced, learned about, and solved when preparing and finishing magnesium parts; a very good book I read on the subject; and an ***ortment of projects my business did for some very knowledgeable costumers at magnesium suppliers Norsk Hydro and Dow. At one time Dow had my shop listed in their magnesium processing and finishing manual. As a favor to a customer I ***isted others with the methods we learned from them, successfully employed from that publication, and fine tuned to our use.

Interesting and sad side note about magnesium. Several years ago the last magnesium production facility in the U.S. closed. Not only was labor cheaper in China, there is a process that yields more magnesium for less money, but isn't practical to do in the U.S. due to environmental regulations.

 

While I didn't read every word of the discussion you linked, one of the posts says there are no D.O.T approved magnesium wheels. At various points in time there have been production street legal cars with magnesium wheels. I know that Campagnolo supplied them for a number of cars including Lamborghini, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, and De Tomaso.

 

****.....you guys have me soo scared to run these things I'm tempted to sell them now.

 

I would think in west Texas you could find a company that does testing on drilling equipment that might be able to help you out.

 

I suspect we agree Cutaway. Surely you're not suggesting everything said here...is not imbued w/truth?
There was a whole lot of discussion there, I was glad to read the opinionators who spoke of their concerns.
Posts are posts, as the great philosopher Muttley once uttered!

 

Sorry, that wasn't my intention. I would just encourage you to confirm what you have before trusting them with your safety and the safety of others.

The problem is; more than most metals, from the day it is produced, magnesium is doing everything possible to get back to where it came from. I doubt that future archeologists will be digging up any of today's magnesium items 2,000 years from now.

 

I would suggest, as have others, an FAA aircraft repair station/engine overhaul facility.

 

Once again, I regret getting involved with a thread concerned with a topic in which I make a living...and am certified in...and educated in...and have years of experience in.

And, as is proven, there is no limit to the information that can be copied and pasted from the internet, nor the amount of "informed" people willing and able to provide it.

As Mr.Cutaway/spell checker has previously stated, there are alternatives to getting the inspection I mentioned. I only suggested the method that would be the most economical, and not to teach you of the history of magnesium.

Good luck with your wheels.