Roll casting of aluminum alloy strip by melt drag twin roll caster

The present paper describes the melt drag twin roll caster, a recently devised type of high-speed and semi-solid twin roll caster which requires no lubricant to prevent the strip-sticking to the rolls. The copper rolls and extremely small separating force (0.01-0.1 MPa) of the melt drag twin roll caster eliminates the tendency for the strip to adhere to the rolls, thus eliminating the need for a lubricant. Use of copper rolls and no use of the lubricant are significant factors in high-speed roll casting, and A5182 can be cast at the speeds up to 60 m/min. The microstructure of the A5182 strips cast by the melt drag twin roll caster is not columnar structure but equiaxed structure. The higher the roll speed, the smaller the microstructure. The strip thickness is at the range about from 2 to 3 mm. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.