Melt Conditioned Twin Roll Casting (MC-TRC) of Thin Mg-Alloy Strips for Direct Stamping of Mg Components

Abstract

In this paper we introduce a novel process for the production of thin-walled magnesium components by direct stamping of twin roll cast thin Mg strips. In this process, the melt conditioned twin roll casting (MC-TRC) process is used to produce thin Mg strips (thickness <2 mm) which have a fine equiaxed grain structure and little basal texture and, more importantly, are free from centreline segregation. Such thin Mg strips can be used for thin-walled component production by direct stamping without any rolling. A major advantage of this process is that it circumvents the low formability problem inherently associated with Mg based alloys. In this paper, AZ31 alloy is used to demonstrate this new process. For both TRC and MC-TRC strips, we will analyze the microstructures, assess the mechanical performance at elevated temperatures and conduct hot stamping in the as-cast condition without any prior rolling.