The protective behavior for a molten AZ91D alloy in an open melting furnace was investigated under a protective gas mixture containing 3% SO2 and 97% CO2, and the protection mechanism was discussed. Experimental results show that the gas mixture provides effective protection for AZ91D melt in the temperature range from 680 ìC to 730 ìC. The microstructure, chemical composition and phase composition of the surface film formed on the molten AZ91D alloy were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The SEM results demonstrate that the surface films with an average thickness between 0.5 レm and 2 レm are dense and coherent in the protected temperature range. The EDS results reveal that the surface film mainly contains elements S, C, O, Al and Mg. The XRD results show that the surface film consists of MgO, MgS and a small amount of C phase
