Empirical Examination of the Formation of Mechanical Properties of Heated Twin-Roll-Cast Magnesium Strips

Magnesium components using strips produced by the Twin-Roll casting technology are of high interest for the automotive industry. Depending on the components application Original Equipment Manufactures define rigid mechanical property standards for magnesium sheets to ensure a high finished product quality. To meet these requirements continuously in a large-scale production via quality assurance the highly complex relationships during Twin-Roll casting need to be investigated holistically. This paper proposes a structural equation model for the assessment of the interrelationships of Twin-Roll casting process parameters and mechanical properties in transverse direction of heat-treated AZ31 Twin-Roll-Cast (TRC) strips using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Within this context, the impact of the casting parameters, thickness profile and segregation formation on mechanical properties of magnesium strips after heating and before hot rolling will be approximated. It will be shown that the TRC thickness profile indicates mechanical properties irregularities due to local segregations.