Regular Article

Processing of twin-roll cast thin AlFeSi strips for the manufacture of aluminium finstock

Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey

^⁎ e-mail: yucel.birol@deu.edu.tr

Received: 22 November 2016
Received in final form: 6 January 2017
Accepted: 17 January 2017

Abstract

The thin strips produced with the new generation twin roll casters experience profoundly different temperature and strain gradients in the caster roll gap and thus require different down stream processing cycles. An attempt was made in the present work to identify processing cycles for the manufacture of finstock from thin AlFeSi strips. The grain structure in strips homogenized directly at the cast gauge is reorganized through growth processes while the grain structure in strips homogenized after cold rolling is reorganized via recrystallization. Finstock samples cold rolled without a homogenization treatment start to recrystallize at 300 °C in a very sluggish fashion whereas finstock samples submitted to a homogenization treatment undergo a faster recrystallization starting at 225 °C. Finstock with intermediate temper mechanical properties can be more easily achieved with a back-annealing process cycle without a homogenization treatment owing to a sluggish recrystallization. Soft temper finstock, on the other hand, requires a process cycle with a homogenization treatment.