Examination of conditions for producing thin sheets of aluminum alloy A6061 by vertical twin roll casting

Abstract

This paper reports on the process of manufacturing thin A6061 sheets by vertical twin roll casting. Currently, aluminum sheet is generally manufactured through processes such as face milling, cold rolling, hot rolling, and annealing after steelmaking. This leads to multiple processes and high manufacturing costs. The twin-roll casting method can solve the above problems because it can produce thin sheets close to the product thickness directly from molten metal. In addition, thin sheets produced by the twin-roll casting method solidify rapidly in the gap between the two rolls, resulting in finer grains and improved mechanical properties. The equipment used in this study is a vertical twin-roll casting machine of the twin-roll method, in which the rolls are arranged horizontally and molten metal is fed from the top of the equipment. In this study, experiments were conducted to improve the productivity of thin aluminum sheets. Thin sheets of aluminum alloy A6061 were produced by vertical twin roll casting, and the conditions under which they could be produced were investigated. The effects of roll speed on surface properties and rolling load were also investigated. Furthermore, the characteristics of twin-roll casting were evaluated by observing the microstructure of the produced thin sheets.