Continuous fabrication of bulk amorphous alloy sheets by twin-roll strip casting

Abstract

Twin-roll strip casting was utilized to fabricate the sheet products of Zr- and Cu-base bulk amorphous alloys with quite different glass forming abilities (GFAs). Simulation of the solidification behavior of the these amorphous forming alloys during twin-roll strip casting shows that suitable cooling rate can be achieved by twin-roll strip casting to form amorphous structure through the thickness of sheet. Optimum twin-roll strip casting conditions have been suggested based on the simulation results. Actual twin-roll strip casting shows that both Zr-base alloy with high GFA and Cu-base alloy with much less GFA can be strip cast forming amorphous structure. The results indicate that the twin-roll strip casting is a viable process for continuous fabrication of sheets of bulk amorphous alloys with a wide range of critical cooling rates.