AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THE STRIP CASTING PROCESS OF ALUMINUM ALLOY BY THE TWIN ROLL METHOD

Abstract

Experimental studies on the twin roll casting process in order to produce thin aluminum alloy strips are presented in this paper. A new twin roll caster was developed as an effective experimental tool. The caster is equipped with a complete casting system incorporating a control and measuring system using multiple sensors and various actuators. The data acquisition system of the caster can measure various process parameters including meniscus, casting speed, and temperature as well as roll gap and pressure. With this system, aluminum alloy thin strips were manufactured and the process parameters such as strip temperature, casting velocity, and pressing force of roll were investigated. Furthermore, the crystallizability, microstructure, and mechanical properties of the strip are evaluated by X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscope, and tensile test. The results revealed the ability of the twin roll caster to produce directly the thin strip of aluminum alloy with improved mechanical strength.

Keywords:

• Aluminum alloy
• Crystalline structure
• Data acquisition system
• Dendrite
• Mechanical property
• Meniscus control
• Microstructure
• Rapid solidification
• Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
• Temperature and solidification
• Tensile test
• Thermal-mechanical coupling
• Thin strip casting
• Twin roll
• X-ray diffractometer (XRD)

7.0 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The support provided by High Technology Research Center of Advanced Science Research Laboratory in Saitama Institute of Technology for this work is gratefully acknowledged. The authors also would like to thank S. Murota in Hitachi Zosen Trading & Manufacturing Co., Ltd., for his valuable assistance in this study.