Corrosion of EN-AW 3105 Aluminum Strip Produced via Twin-Roll Casting with a Steel/Copper Roll Pair

Abstract

Utilizing copper rolls in twin-roll casting (TRC) due to high process productivities provided by high thermal conductivity of copper when used as a shell material is a well-known application to fulfill the increasing material demand seasonally and EN-AW 3105 is one of those aluminum alloys, which is produced by using a steel/ copper roll pair. However, as-cast material microstructure after solidification is distinctive on the material surface which is in contact with the copper roll when compared to the other surface in contact with the steel roll. These microstructural discrepancies observed at as-cast thickness are inherited in the final product after rolling and annealing processes to a certain extent. In this study, corrosion properties of an EN-AW 3105 aluminum strip produced via TRC were scrutinized and it was concluded that the material surface, which solidified in contact with the copper roll performed better corrosion properties with respect to other surface.