MAGNESIUM ALLOY SHEET PRODUCED
BY TWIN ROLL CASTING
R. V. Allen. D.R. East, T. J. Johnson, W. E. Borbidge and D. Liangx
CSIRO Division of Manufacturing Science and Technology
Normandy Road. Clayton, Victoria, 3 169, Australia
Abstract
T h i n roll casting has been used to produce near-net-shape
sheet of M g - 3 to 9 w t q A 1 based alloys (i.e. AZ31. AM60
and AZ91 alloys), and this was followed by thermo-
mechanical processing (i.e. hot rolling and heat treatment)
of the as-cast sheet. The microstructures of both the as-
cast and hot-rolled M g alloys have been characterized so
as to investigate the effects of near-rapid solidification
from twin-roll casting and the subsequent thermo-
mechanical processing on the morphology, size and
distribution of the microstructural components.
Compared to similar alloys processed by conventional
ingot casting and rolling technology, these alloys
produced via twin-roll casting have been found to exhibit
homogeneity of microstructure, refined grain size,
reduced segregation and a dense distribution of fine
particles within the Mg solid solution. Mechanical
properties have also been evaluated and have been shou n
to be significantly improved as a result of the associated
improvements i n microstructure.
Introduction
Magnesium a l l o y are considered to be amongst the
ad\,anced materials for the 21" century. They are
lightweight (with a density of 1.8 that is approximately
?/3 that of aluminium alloys) and have the benefits of
high specific strength and stiffness. good damping
characteristics, p o d \velding/machining ability rind
excellent castability. With regard to plastics (almost the
same density) which are frequently used in the
t e I ec o m m un i c at io n industry . mag ne s i u m a I I o y s have
c' x c e 1I e n t s h i e 1ding c a pa b i I it y ag ai ns t electromagnetic
interference (EMI). environmental stability. better heat
dissipation rind recycling ability. In addition. magnesium
alloys are able t o withstand temperature extremes: are
itable in liquefied fuel environments: do not react n i t h
ozone and free radicals in the upper atmosphere; and are
capable of withstanding bombardment by short-naie
12~ithorto whom correspondence should be addressed.
75
electromagnetic radiation. high energy particles and small
meteorites. All these characteristics make them
particularly attractive for electronics, space and defense
applications, in addition to the larger quantity
transportation markets [ 1-41,
In conventional production of Mg alloy sheet, the M g is
supplied as slabs typically 300mm by l m in cross section
and 2 m long. These slabs are first homogenized (e.g. at
480°C for AZ31) for several hours and then continuously
hot rolled on a reversing hot mill to 5-6mm thick. The
sheet metal is annealed at 340°C before each pass of
-20% reduction in a final finish mill. This later part of the
rolling process is time consuming and progressive11
conducive to lower metal yield.
In contrast. t u i n roll casting enables Mg alloy strip t o be
produced directly from the melt with a thickness less than
5-6mm. eliminating the need for the reverse hot mill and
most of the passes in the final finish mill. thereby
reducing capital investment and operational costs. Also.
near-rapid solidification achieved through twin-roll
casting can potentially improve alloy properties b!,
improving the homogeneity of microstructures. refining
alloy grain size. reducing segregation. increasing solid
solubility. enhancing precipitate nucleation within the
matrix and generating a distribution of fine precipitates.
The aim of this study is to characterize the effects of n e w
rapid solidification on microstructures and to determine
the improvement in the mechanical properties of Mg LIIIO!
sheet achieved by twin roll casting and subsequent hot
rolling.
Experimental
,4231. AM60 and AZ91 \\ere melted in nn electric
furnace under a mixture of protective cover gases. The
Mg alloy melts Mere then transferred to a nozzle \i:i ;I
melt delivery system. The nozLle fed the melts i n t o the
gap betiveen t w o rotating rolls. The solidified M g allo>
l f a g ti csi i i m 'l'cc tiriol o g 2 00 1
E d i t t J b! I . f Ir! ti
'I'XIS (.The \finerals. Xletals K: Xlatcri,il> Socict! ). 2001
strip of 4 m m in thickness exited the roll gap and left the
c:ister horizontally after being subjected to near-rapid
solidification and “hot” rolling. The 4mm thick M g strip
~ v a sheated to a temperature in the range of 340 to 350°C
before rolling to I m m thick. In the case of the AZ91
alloy. the rolled sheet was subsequently solution treated at
425°C for 24 hours followed by ageing at 200OC for 24
hours (i.e.T6 temper).

Sections of both 4mm and I m m thick Mg alloy strip were

ground and polished down to a l p m diamond paste finish.
Samples were etched in either orthophosphoric acid or a
reagent containing l0ml acetic acid. 4.2g picric acid.
l0ml H20 and 70ml ethanol.

The microstructure was examined using an optical Figure 1: An optical micrograph \ho\%inpa - M g dendrites
microscope equipped with an image analysis system. The i n as-cast AZ31 alloy strip.
secondary dendrite arm spacing (A?)for a - M g dendrites
in as-cast samples was taken as the average value
determined from at least 15 test lines within each
particular region of the strip sections. The mean linear
intercept ( L ) for equiaxed a - M g grains was measured in
the way similar to that for A?,As for the deformed a - M g
grains in rolled samples, the mean linear intercepts were
determined in three dimensions i.e. in longitudinal,
transverse and thickness directions termed as L I , L2 and
L3, respectively. The effective value of L can be
c a 1c u 1 at ed as fc) 11o \v s :

Fissuming the shape of recrystallised a - M g grains as

slightly distorted Kelvin polyhedron. the grain diameter.
D . can be calculated by the following [S]:
Figure 2: A TEM micrograph showing Mgl7illl2 ( A ) and
D = 1.74xL ( 21 AI-Mn intermetallic ( B ) particles between u - M g dendrites
(C)in as-cast AZ91 strip.
Specimens for transmission electron microscopy (TEM)
were prepared from sections < I50pm thick. by
electrolytic polishing in a solution of 7.958 lithium
chloride, I6.74g magnesium perchlorate, 150ml 2-Butoxy
ethanol and 750ml methanol under condition of 90v.
0 . l A . -60°C and flow rate 6-7 in a Struers Tenupol - 3 .
Specimens were examined using a Philips CM30
analytical electron microscope equipped with a n X-ray
analysis system. The operating voltages used were 200 o r
3 00 lie V .

Results

Microstructure
Fig. 1 shows the typical microstructure of the as-cast Mg
alloy sheets. consisting of u-Mg dendrites and Figure 3: An optical micrograph shou ing deformed (I-

interdendritic structures. M hich \+ere determined to be Mg grains i n AM60 strip after hot rolling.
kIgl-rlllzand AI-Mn intermetallic pwticles (Fig. 3 ) .
76
l h i i n g h o t rolling. the as-cast dendritic microstructures increase i n UTS. compared with die castings ( F temper)
\\ere replaced by that of deformed u-Mg grains with and sand castings (T6 temper).
Mg17Alll and AI-Mn intermetallics between the grains
(Fig. 3). TEM also revealed the presence of a dense
distribution of fine intermetallic particles (-90nm
diameter) and a few spherical Mgl,AII2 particles (<O.jpm
diameter) within the a-Mggrains (Fig. 4),

The T6 temper was applied to the AZ91 sheet after hot

rolling. During solution heat treatment (T4 temper). the
u-Mg grains became equiaxed. These still contained the
fine intermetallic particles (-90nm diameter) and the
spherical MgI;AIl2phase (<0.5pm diameter) found in the
;IS rolled microstructure. After ageing. 4 types of
intermetallic particles were found within the u-Mg grains: Figure 4: A T E M micrograph showing ( a ) fine
( I j fine continuous Mg17A112precipitation in the form of intermetallic particles (-20nm diameter) and ( b ) spherical
lozenge-shaped precipitates (Fig. 5). ( 2 ) course Mgl7AII2 MgI7All?particles (<0.5ym diameter) in AZ91 after hot
discontinuous precipitation in the form of Iamellae. ( 3 ) rolling.
spherical M g l 7 A I l 2 precipitates and ( 3 ) very fine
i n t er me t a11i c part ic I e s of - 2 0 nm d i a me ter .

The lozenge-shaped precipitates are of the order 0.03ym

in thickness and with a spacing of 0.03-0.10pm measured
in the matrix beam direction as shown in Fig. 5a. These
precipitates lie in six different orientations parallel to the
basal plane in the a - M g matrix and thus form a
M'idrnanstiitten-type structure (Fig. 5b) [6]. These
precipitates account for approximately 50-60% of the
total precipitation. The Mg17Al12 lamellae of 0. l p m bvidth
and 0 3 p m spacing occupy 10-20% of the total
precipitation. The last 30'1 precipitation is the spherical Figure 5: A TEM dark-field micrograph showing
Mp,7i\112precipitates of 0.1-0.4pm diameter. -
continuous Mg17AI12precipitation near the [ 1 2 101
u-h4g secondary dendrite arm spacing and erain size matrix (a) and the [0001] matrix (b) i n AZ91 strip aftei-
hot rolling and T 6 temper.
Values of i,a. h small as 3.5 pm have been obtained in as-
cast AZ3 1 for u.-Mg dendrites. However, as-cast Mg alloy
sheet with 2,: of 7ym to 9 p m w a s chosen for the present
htudy.

Ilot rolling transformed the a - M g dendrites i n t o a-Mg

grains with values of L of 5-6pm. This i s equivalent to a
gr;iin diameter D of9-10 y m , After solution treatment. CI-
h4g grains in AZ91 had grown from an L value o f 5ym to
20,um (i.e. fi-om 9ym t o 35pm in Dj. Subsequent ageing
did not change grain size significantly - L measured as Die casting (F) Sand casting (T6) Twin roll cast and hot
rolled (T6)
1 9 i 2 y m (33ym in D ) .
Product Form
- -
Illtimate Tensile Strencth ( U T S ) and Yield Strencrth 0 1 s 0 Zoooffset MP_aI.UyS MPa

(0.2'ji Offset) (YS)for AZ9l

Fig. 0 compures the I!TS and YS of AZ91 produced by Figure 6: Comparing YS and UTS of AZ9I produced b)'
t L i i i i ruI1 casting and h o t rolling nith thohe of sand sand ;ind die cnsting to those of AZ9 I strip from the
castings and die castings. The AZ91 alloy from t\+in roll present study.
c:isting i n the TO ternper has ;1 YS of 239MPa and UTS of
-321 MPL This i s ;i 60% increase i n YS arid ;i 17-4Ori
77
 Discussion
Microstructural refinement for AZ31, AM60 and AZ91
Based on his and other work [7-111, Dube et a1
established an experimental relationship between cooling
rate. R , and A, in the range of R varying between 10‘’ and
lo6 K.s.‘:
For the present twin roll casting process, where A, is
between 3.5pm to 9pm, this gives a cooling rate of
between 10’ and 2x10’ K.s.’.
One consequence of the small A? values of 7-9pm
achieved by this high cooling rate is the improved
workability of AZ91 in the present study. Typical grain
sizes in AZ91 ingots are in the range 40-1OOym. Mohri et
al [ 121 reported that they were not able to roll AZ91 ingot
with this grain size at pre-heating temperatures <4OO0C.
In the present study, however. there was no difficulty in
rolling twin-roll-cast AZ91 alloy at 345°C.
The reduction after hot rolling in linear intercept values
from 7-9pm (A?) to 5-6pm ( L ) can be attributed to
recrystallization during hot rolling. Similar transformation
has been found in other work [12-141.
Superplasticity at elevated temperature is dependent on
grain size. which is normally required to be less than
lOym [15-191. Conventional AZ31 and a 6 1 sheet of
0.8-1.5mm thick, produced by hot rolling Mg alloy ingots,
have typical L values of 15pm [20, 211. This is about
three times larger than that of the present Mg alloy sheet.
So, superplasticity of the present Mg alloy sheet is
expected to be better than the conventional Mg alloy
sheet.
Strength enhancement for the AZ91 alloy
The grain size in AZ91 after twin roll casting, hot rolling
and T6 temper is -20 pm. It is comparable with those of
die-cast or T6 temper sand-cast AZ91 - i.e. between 5 and
100 ym. Thus, it is not likely that grain size is a factor
associated with the significant improvement in YS and
UTS.
Other uork [22-231 indicates that the spacing betbeen
MgI-All2precipitates is normally >300nm In the present
3tudy J spacing of 30-100nm has been achieved, uhich
could contribute to the improvement i n YS and UTS
78
Conclusions
1. A small dendritic arm spacing in twin-roll-cast AZ91
alloy can evidently improve workability of the alloy at
elevated temperatures.
2. Twin-roll-cast a - M g dendrites in AZ31, AM60 and
AZ91 with secondary dendritic arm spacings of 7-9pm
can be transformed into recrystallised grains of 9-10ym in
diameter by hot rolling. The small grain size is expected
to benefit superplasticity at elevated temperatures
3. Mg alloy sheet hot rolled from twin-roll-cast AZ91
exhibits an improvement of 60% in YS and 1 7 4 0 % in
UTS compared with sand castings (T6 temper) and die
castings (F temper). A refinement in the continuous
precipitation within the grains could contribute to this
improvement in mechanical properties.
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