Characterization of magnesium plates produced by wheel-band casting and horizontal continuous casting

AZ31 magnesium plates with 1mm in thickness were fabricated by casting and subsequent hot rolling process. Both wheel-band continuous casting (modified Properzi) and horizontal continuous casting (HCC) machine were designed and employed to produce AZ31 alloy plates. The plates with 5x50mm in size produced by modified Properzi process exhibited good surface qualities that were sustained during following rolling process. Surface qualities of HCC plates with 120x30mm in size were very sensitive depending on the processing parameters. Homogenization treatment or surface machining before rolling was effective to get good thin plate. By means of rolling process, microstructures were refined effectively to the size of 7 similar to 10 mu m.