The Microstructure and Processing in Twin Roll Casting of Magnesium Alloy Strip

Abstract

Magnesium has a hexagonal close-packed crystal structure which makes it more difficult to deform than aluminum. Conventional strip production usually requires several process steps to reach the final strip thickness. Strip casting can reduce some of the process steps and make strip processing simpler and easier, especially for alloys with poor deformability. The twin-roll casting process can directly obtain strips with thickness less than one or two millimeters. In this paper, the metallurgical characteristics of the twin-roll strip casting process were analyzed and discussed. A laboratory scale vertical twin roll caster in prepared AZ31 magnesium alloy strips, with 1.0 to 2.0 mm thick and 150mm wide. Process stability in the thin strip casting process of the alloy has been studied, the casting temperature (superheat) was proven to be a key factor influencing process stability and casting strip quality. The as-cast microstructure of the alloy was analyzed and evaluated by optical microscopy, which showed that the as-cast microstructure was composed of developed dendrites when the superheat was high, and of a rosebush-like structure when the superheat was low. When the casting temperature was close to the liquid phase temperature，the as-cast microstructure became global or grainy, and the grain size of the cast strip was very small. This remarkably improved the deformability of the as-cast strip.