Journal of Materials Processing Technology 155156 (2004) 16621667

Semi-solid manufacturing process of magnesium

alloys by twin-roll casting
H. Watari a, , K. Davey b , M.T. Rasgado b , T. Haga c , S. Izawa a
a

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Oyama National College of Technology, 771 Nakakuki, Oyama, Tochig 323-0806, Japan
b Department of Mechanical Aerospace and Manufacturing Engineering, UMIST, UK
c Department of Mechanical Engineering, Osaka Institute of Technology, Japan

Abstract
An experimental approach has been employed to ascertain the effectiveness of semi-solid roll strip casting of magnesium alloys by a
twin-roll caster. The demand for light-weight products with high strength has grown recently due to the rapid development of automobile
and aircraft technology. One key to such development has been utilization of magnesium alloys, which can potentially reduce the total
product weight. However, the problems of utilizing magnesium alloys are still mainly related to high manufacturing cost. One of the
solutions to this problem is to develop magnesium castingrolling technology in order to produce magnesium sheet products at competitive
cost for commercial applications. In this experiment, magnesium alloys AZ31B, AZ91D, AM50A and AM60B were used for twin-roll
strip casting. Temperature of the molten materials and roll speeds of upper and lower rolls, which could be adjusted independently, were
varied to find appropriate manufacturing conditions. Effects of cooling and contact condition on possible forming were clarified in terms
of contact condition between molten material and the rolls. Microscopic observation of the crystals of the finished casting was performed.
It has been found that 2.03.0 mm thick magnesium sheets could be produced at a speed of 25 m/min. It has been found that the hot rolled
cast magnesium sheets produced by semi-solid manufacturing process could be used for plastic forming.
2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Magnesium alloys; Strip casting; Twin-roll caster

1. Introduction
Recently, the growing demand for light-weight products
with high strength has been increased by the rapid development of automobile and aircraft technology. One of the
keys is utilization of magnesium alloys, which has possibilities of contributing to lighten the total product weight when
magnesium products can be used to replace conventional
iron and steel products. Magnesium is 36% lighter per unit
volume than aluminum and 78% lighter than iron. When
alloyed, magnesium has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of all the structural metals. Moreover, because of the
ease of recycling of metallic materials, magnesium has received global attention from the standpoint of environmental preservation. Utilization of magnesium alloys has mainly
depended on casting technology and relating thixo-forming.
Corresponding author. Tel.: +81 285 21 0319; fax: +81 285 20 2884.
E-mail addresses: watari@oyama-ct.ac.jp (H. Watari),
keith.davey@umist.ac.uk (K. Davey), maria.rasgado@umist.ac.uk
(M.T. Rasgado), haga@med.oit.ac.jp (T. Haga), izawa@oyama-ct.ac.jp
(S. Izawa).

0924-0136/$ see front matter 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2004.04.323

However, demands have been raised in automobile and electronics industries to reduce the total product weight [1,2].
Automobile manufacturers have tried to evaluate the suitability of magnesium alloys to replace steel and aluminum
for automotive structural and sheet applications. Some of
them have already made magnesium components for practical use. Unfortunately, the major barrier to greatly increased
magnesium alloy use in cars is still primarily high manufacturing cost. One of the keys for solving this problem is
to develop semi-solid roll strip casting technology to manufacture magnesium sheet alloys economically while maintaining high quality [36].
The twin-roll strip casting was first conceived by Henry
Bessemer in 1856. Due to its many advantages, continuous
strip casting has become more and more important during
the last 40 years. The biggest advantage of the continuous
casting technologies is the saving of the several production
steps in the production of strip compared to conventional
technologies, because the continuous casting process converts molten metals directly into an endless coiled strip suitable for cold rolling or wire-bars for wire-drawing. Takuda
et al. [710] have investigated into formability and a crite-

H. Watari et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 155156 (2004) 16621667

rion for ductile fracture of magnesium alloy sheets. The authors have examined the effectiveness of semi-solid twin-roll
strip casting for aluminium [1121].
The aim of the work is to ascertain the possibilities of a
manufacturing process and technology to facilitate the manufacture of magnesium sheet products economically whilst
maintaining high quality. An investigation into the effectiveness of the manufacturing process roll strip casting for magnesium has been performed. Established in the paper are the
appropriate manufacturing conditions for the production of
high quality strip using a purpose built semi-solid roll strip
casting mill. Influence of process parameters such as melt
temperature, roll speeds and cooling conditions are ascertained. Microscopic observation of the crystals of the finished casting has been performed. A deep drawing test of
the cast magnesium sheets after hot rolled was performed
to examine the formability of the magnesium alloy sheets
produced by semi-solid strip casting.

2. Experimental
Fig. 1 illustrates the twin-roll strip caster for the horizontal casting direction. It includes a source of molten metal
that feeds into the space between a pair of counter-rotating,
internally cooled rolls. A cooling slope is used to obtain
slurries with fine and spheroidal microstructures, which enhances component properties. The principle dimensions of
the strip caster and cooling slope are shown in Table 1.
Molten magnesium metals heated to liquid temperature flow
down the cooling slope and the slurry that is rapidly cooled
by the slope is kept at a constant temperature as an adiabatic boundary condition in the tundish as shown in Fig. 1.
The molten metal slurry in the tundish is dragged onto the
surface of the lower roll. The molten metal solidifies very
soon after leaving the casting tundish due to the contact
with cooled rolls and is rolled between the upper and lower
rolls. A solidified strip can thus be manufactured. Experimental conditions for investigating the appropriate manufacturing conditions to successfully produce magnesium alloy
sheets by twin-roll strip casting are shown in Table 2. Casting temperatures were changed from 595 to 640 C in order

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Table 1
Dimensions of roll caster, cooling slope and tundish
Rolls

Material
Upper roll
Lower roll
Roll speed
Inclination angle

Copper Alloy
300 mm 100 mm
300 mm 100 mm
10150 m/min
15

Cooling slope

Material
Dimension
Inclination angle
Lubricant

Mild steel
200 mm 100 mm
30
BN

Tundish

Material
Volume

Insulator
20.0 105 mm3

Table 2
Experimental conditions
Casting temperature TC ( C)

595640

Roll speed (m/min)

Upper Vu
Lower Vd

1530
1530

Dimensions of tundish nozzle (mm)

Length L
Breadth B
Depth D
Shield gas

4080
2545
100160
CO2 , N2 , CO2 + SF6 , no shield

to keep the molten metal in the tundish in a semi-solid state.

Temperatures of the molten magnesium in the melting pot
and tundish were measured by thermocouples. Roll casting
speeds were varied from 10 to 30 m/min to examine which
roll speed is appropriate for solidifying the molten magnesium. The roll gap between the upper and lower rolls was set
to 1.53.0 mm. Effects of the different velocities of the two
rolls on microstructures of cast products were also investigated. The length L, breadth B and depth D of the tundish
nozzle were varied, while maintaining the same tundish capacity. Four shielded gas conditions were established to find
the best shielding during the forming process.

3. Materials
The materials used in the experiment are AZ31B, AZ91D,
AM50A and AM60B whose chemical compositions are
shown in Table 3. The physical properties of the magneTable 3
Chemical compositions of materials (mass%)

Fig. 1. Schematic illustration of a manufacturing process using a strip

caster and a cooling slope.

Alloys

AZ31B

AZ91D

AM50A

AM60B

Aluminum
Copper
Iron
Manganese
Nickel
Silicon
Zinc

2.53.5
0.05 max
0.005 max
0.2 min
0.005 max
0.10 max
0.61.4

8.59.5
0.025 max
0.004 max
0.170.40
0.001 max
0.03 max
0.450.90

4.55.3
0.008 max
0.004 max
0.280.50
0.00 1max
0.05 max
0.20 max

5.66.4
0.008 max
0.004 max
0.260.50
0.001 max
0.05 max
0.20 max

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H. Watari et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 155156 (2004) 16621667

Table 4
physical properties of the materials
Alloys
(103

kg/m3 )

Density
Thermal conductivity (W/m K)
Specific heat (J kg1 K1 )
Coefficient of thermal
expansion (m/m K)
Electrical resistivity (n m)
Latent heat (kJ/kg)
Solidus temperature ( C)
Liquidus temperature ( C)

AZ31B

AZ9ID

AM50A

AM60B

1.77
96
1050
26.0

1.81
72
1050
25.0

1.78
62
1050
26.0

1.79
62
1050
25.6

100
373
575
630

141
373
470
595

125
373
543
620

125
373
540
615

sium used in the experiment are shown in Table 4. Magnesium ingots in a melting pot are heated up with an electric
furnace to 650 C. In the magnesium melting process, magnesium oxide and other suspended nonmetallic matter were
removed with flux that preferentially wets the impurities
and carries them to the bottom as sludge. After the refining
process, the molten magnesium metal in the melting pot
was carried to the strip caster, and poured onto the cooling
slope to manufacture magnesium strip.

Fig. 3. Sheet thickness of products AM60B.

630 C, which are equal or slightly higher than the liquidus

temperature of the material. However, the successful region
in Fig. 2 becomes narrower when the casting temperature
becomes higher because higher casting temperatures needs
much contact time for completing solidification.
4.2. Sheet thickness of products

4. Results and discussions

4.1. Manufacturing conditions
Fig. 2 indicates an example of manufacturing conditions
for the twin-roll strip casting. The material shown in Fig. 1
is AM60B. Roll speeds of upper and lower rolls were varied from 15 to 30 m/min, and casting temperatures were
changed from 615 to 630 C. The circles in Fig. 2 show
successful manufacturing formations and the crosses show
unsuccessful formations. From the result, it has been found
that appropriate roll speeds are within the range from 15 to
25 m/min. In the case of 30 m/min, the molten metal was not
solidified and a continuous casting was impossible. It suggests that a certain contact time between the molten metal
and the rolls are necessary for solidification. Fig. 2 also
shows that appropriate casting temperatures are from 615 to

Fig. 2. Manufacturing condition of AM60B.

Sheet thicknesses of manufactured products were measured to examine the strip casting process of magnesium.
An example of sheet thicknesses of the product AM60B is
shown in Fig. 3. Sheet thicknesses of three points at 600 mm
intervals in the forming direction were measured. In Fig. 3,
the triangles indicate the sheet thickness of the products of
left and right side points for a roll speed of 15 m/min. The
circles indicate thicknesses at center positions at 15 m/min.
The diamonds indicate sheet thicknesses of the products of
left and right side points at a roll speed of 20 m/min. The
squares indicate thicknesses at center positions at 20 m/min.
The black circles indicate mean thicknesses of three points
when the roll speed is 15 m/min. The white squares represents results for a roll speed of 20 m/min. The sheet thickness of the product increases as distance from the top of the
sheet increases until the distance from the top of the sheet
is nearly 1500 mm. Between 1500 and 3000 mm, the values are stable. It has been believed that the molten metal of
the beginning of the forming solidifies quickly because the
volume of the molten metal in the tundish is not so great.
As a result, thin sheet plates are manufactured in the beginning of the forming due to the easy solidification. The
mean thickness of the product was 3.58 mm when the roll
speed was 15 m/min. When the roll speed was 20 m/min,
the mean value of the sheet thicknesses became 3.06 mm.
In this case, the roll gap between upper and lower rolls was
set to be 2.0 mm. These results suggest that the roll gap
gradually increases during casting. Also, the sheet product
becomes thicker for a lower roll speed than for a higher
roll speed, because of the difference in the solidification
speed.

H. Watari et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 155156 (2004) 16621667

1665

Fig. 4. Sheet thickness of products AZ91D.

Fig. 6. Surface condition of formed product with SF6 gas.

Fig. 4 shows an example of sheet thickness of the product AZ91D. The manufacturing conditions of the sheets are
pouring temperature 595 C, roll speed 25 m/min, pouring
temperature 600 C, and roll speed 30 m/min. The mean
thickness of the product was 2.69 mm when the roll speed
was 25 m/min with the pouring temperature 600 C. When
the roll speed was 30 m/min with the pouring temperature
595 C, the mean value of the sheet thicknesses became
2.63 mm, in the case of AZ91D. Fig. 4 reveals that thin magnesium sheets could be manufactured when at relatively fast
roll speeds (exceeding 20 m/min).

Figs. 5 and 6 present photographs of the surface condition of products AZ31B. The products shown in Figs. 5
and 6 were manufactured at a roll speed of 15 m/min and
casting temperature of 625 C. Fig. 5 illustrates the surface
condition of the magnesium sheets cast without cover gas;
the surface is blackened and the material on the surface is
believed to be magnesium oxide. In this case, the molten

magnesium reacted with nitrogen in the air when the cast

sheet left the rolls. To avoid creating magnesium oxide on
the surface of the sheets, 0.01% SF6 gas based on CO2 was
used as shield gas during roll casting of magnesium alloys.
Fig. 6 presents a photograph of the surface when SF6 based
on CO2 gas was used in the casting. As shown in Fig. 6,
using SF6 gas effectively prevents the cast magnesium form
reacting to form oxide in the air. Using N2 and CO2 gas to
avoid creating magnesium oxide on the surface of the sheets
was tried but it was found that neither gas could effectively
shield the cast magnesium. It also considered that decreasing the temperature with another cooling system when the
cast magnesium leaves from the rolls effectively prevents
formation of magnesium oxide.
Fig. 7 depicts an example of defects in the magnesium
sheet (AZ31B) produced by roll strip casting. A crack can
be seen near the edge of the cast magnesium sheet. It was
probably caused by rapid cooling around the edge of the
sheet in the cast magnesium. Selecting an appropriate cooling condition is necessary for manufacturing magnesium
sheets without any cracks by the strip casting method.

Fig. 5. Surface condition of formed product without cover gas.

Fig. 7. Cracks occurring in cast product.

4.3. Surface conditions and defects

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H. Watari et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 155156 (2004) 16621667

Fig. 8. Grain structure of cast product (equivalent speed).

Fig. 10. Formed product from cast magnesium alloys sheet (AM50A) by
deep drawing.

4.4. Microscope observation of product crystals

Figs. 8 and 9 present photographs of the microstructure
of AZ31B product. The product shown in Fig. 8 was manufactured at upper and lower roll speeds of 15 m/min and
a casting temperature of 625 C. It has been found that the
mean grain size of the crystals in the products was less than
30 m under these conditions. Fig. 9 shows a microstructure
of crystals in products manufactured with different speeds
for upper and lower rolls (the upper roll speed was set to
25 m/min, the lower one to 20 m/min). We can see that the
grain size of the crystal is 1015 m. A strong shear effect
is considered to contribute to reducing the crystal grain size.
However, a practical problem in setting different roll speeds
is to ensure stable manufacturing conditions. In this experiment, cracks in the surface of the products were observed
where the products contacted the lower roll. Although the
experimental results obtained suggest a key to reducing the
grain size of products made by roll strip casting, more detailed experimental research will be required.
4.5. Deep drawing test of cast products
Fig. 10 shows the result of deep drawing test at a temperature of 350 C. The sheet used for the deep drawing

test was rolled under the condition that the temperature of

roll was 200 C, the temperature of magnesium sheet was
400 C. The cast magnesium sheet with 3.6 mm thick was
rolled until the sheet thickness became 0.6 mm with each
roll reduction of 30% step by step. After hot rolled, the
rolled magnesium sheet was annealed at a 400 C for 4 h,
and cooled in a electric furnace. The diameter of the punch
is 30mm and the punch is cooled with water going through
inner of the punch. The die is heated up at 400 C. The LDR
of the formed product shown in Fig. 10 is approximately 2.0.
Thus, it has been found that the cast magnesium sheet by
roll strip casting could be used for plastic forming if appropriate magnesium sheets can be produced after roll casting
process. Further research about effects of rolling conditions
after roll strip casting process on formability of cast magnesium are considered to be necessary to clarify appropriate
manufacturing conditions to produce magnesium sheet alloys economically while maintaining high quality as well as
good formability.

5. Conclusions
Magnesium alloys AZ31B, AZ91D, AM50A and AM60B
have been used for twin-roll strip casting. In the present investigation, appropriate casting conditions were examined
for producing magnesium alloy sheets along with microscopic crystals of formed products. The conclusions obtained are as follows:

Fig. 9. Grain structure of cast product (different speed).

1. This experiment clarified that AZ31B, AZ91D, AM50

and AM60 can be used for strip casting. The product
sheet thickness in the present experiment is 2.54.0 mm.
2. AZ31B, AM50A and AM60B are appropriate materials
for twin-roll strip casting. To avoid formation of magnesium oxide on the surface of the products, SF6 gas is an
effective cover gas for protecting magnesium from the
air.

H. Watari et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 155156 (2004) 16621667

3. It has been found that a roll speed of 1520 m/min and

a casting temperature of 625 C for AZ31B, a roll speed
of 1525 m/min and a casting temperature of 620 C for
AM50A and AM50B are appropriate manufacturing conditions in the present experiment.
4. It has been found that the grain size of the cast products
is around 30 m. Using different upper and lower roll
speeds, the grain size can be reduced to 10 m. The cast
magnesium alloy sheets after hot rolled and annealed
under appropriate conditions could be formed into can
shape by a deep drawing tool.

Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the Japan Ministry of
Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Grant-in-Aid for
Scientific Research (C) 13650142, 2002. The authors would
like to acknowledge the valuable suggestions made by Mr.
S. Ueno of Chu-ou Kousan Co., Mr. M. Mochida of Ohta
Seisaku-syo Co. The authors also wish to acknowledge the
continuing encouragement of Dr. I. Rosindale and Dr. L.D.
Clark of the University of Manchester Institute of Science
and Technology.

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