An experimental instrument for simulating the
roll-casting process was designed, and the effect of processing parameters on the
microstructure of
Al alloy was studied. Results show that with a specifically designed instrument equipped in a Gleeble-1500 Thermal Simulation Tester the typical microstructure with the characteristic of realistic roll-casting process can be obtained, and the microstructure is sensitive to the strain rate. When ε·=0.125 s -1, the plastic deformation of Al alloy starts to couple with the solidification process, and the microstructure is of the roll-casting character. When ε·=0.300 s -1, the column
crystals transform to
equiaxed ones. The formation of roll-
Casting microstructure is mainly attributed to the deformation of un-solidified liquid phase, the varied distribution of mass and heat. Increasing the deformation velocity would do good to the formation of roll-casting microstructure and the equiaxed column crystals, and would decrease the rolling load.