Relieving segregation in twin-roll cast Mg-8Al-2Sn-1Zn alloys via controlled rolling

Twin-roll casting(TRC)of Mg alloys with high Al content has unique advantages and broad development prospects.However,the severe segregation of high-alloyed Mg caused by TRC technology is difficult to solve at present,which restricts its practical application.In this work,the homogenization of coarse segregated phases in a twin-roll cast Mg-8Al-2Sn-1Zn(ATZ821)alloy was successfully achieved by a method combining solid-solution heat treatment and controlled rolling,which is suitable for industrial-scale production.In addition,the evolution of the microstructure was studied in detail.It was found that phases dynamically precipitated and dissolved repeatedly during the hot rolling process,and the evolution of entire second phases can be classified into three stages,i.e.,the net dissolution,balancing and net precipitation stages.During the process,the large-size chain-like eutectic phases evolved into a fine and nearly spherical(∼0.4μm)morphology that was uniformly dispersed in the Mg-matrix due to the thermodynamic coupling and the Ostwald ripening effect.Moreover,a fine grain microstructure(∼4μm)was obtained.The formidable segregation problem of twin-roll cast Mg alloys with high Al content was solved,which is an important finding for the industrial application of high-alloyed twin-roll cast sheets.©2020 Published by Elsevier B.V.on behalf of Chongqing University.

Towards relieving center segregation in twin-roll cast Al-Mg-Si-Cu strips by controlling the thermal-mechanical process

Serious center segregation greatly limits the application of twin-roll casting(TRC)technology for produc-ing 6xxx alloy strips.Herein,Al-0.9Mg-0.6Si-0.2Cu-0.1Fe(wt.%,6061)strips with different thicknesses were fabricated by TRC,and we found that the center segregation was well relieved with the thick-ness increased from 3 mm to 4 mm.To reveal the mechanisms of mitigation of center segregation in the 4 mm strip,various techniques including solidification simulation,crystallographic calculation,elec-tron backscatter diffraction(EBSD),and electron probe micro-analyzer(EPMA)were utilized.The re-sults disclosed that the Fe-containing phase in the 3 mm strip wasπ-AlFeMgSi,while the counterpart in the 4 mm strip wasα-AlFeSi.Theα-AlFeSi could serve as nucleation substrates for Mg_(2)Si and Q-AlCuMgSi phases,thus promoting the uniform distribution of elements and preventing the accumulation of phases in the center region.Three matching planes between theα-AlFeSi and Q/Mg_(2)Si were exam-ined as:(1120)_(α-AlFeSi)//(0001)_(Q),(0001)_(α-AlFeSi)//(110)_(Mg2Si),and(1120)_(α-AlFeSi)//(110)_(Mg2Si).Meanwhile,the smaller roll separating force during the TRC process in the 4 mm strip could weaken the force-induced liquid flow behavior in the semi-solid region,which is the other reason for the alleviation of center seg-regation.Owing to the elimination of the center segregation,a more excellent fracture elongation was achieved in the as-homogenized 4 mm strip(∼29%)compared with the counterpart of the 3 mm strip(∼20%).This work may provide a strategy to eliminate the center segregation,thus further promoting the application of TRC process and producing high-performance Al alloy strips efficiently.