Twin Roll Caster for Clad Strip

Production of aluminum alloy clad strips requires many processes, and a reduction in the number of processes has long been demanded. A method to cast clad strips directly from molten metal using a twin roll caster with copper rolls is proposed in this work. Two types of twin roll casters were designed and tested. One was a vertical-type tandem twin roll caster and the other was a twin roll caster equipped with a scraper. The casting of the clad strips was conducted in an oxidizing atmosphere. The clad strips were cast at speeds higher than 15 m/min. This casting speed is much higher than that of conventional twin roll casters for aluminum alloys. The roll load was smaller than 0.2 kN/mm. This small roll load means that strips were not bonded by hot rolling. The clad strips had a clear interface between strips, and elements in each strip did not diffuse into other strips. The clad strips did not fracture at the interface in a tension shear test. This means that the clad strips were strongly bonded.