Structural and mechanical properties of 7075 alloy strips fabricated by roll-casting in a static magnetic field

The influences of a 0.2 T static magnetic field on the microstructure of 7075 aluminum alloys sheets produced with a twin-roll continuous caster at 675°C were investigated in this paper. Under a uniform magnetic field, the primary dendrites were refined and tended to be equiaxed. The microstructure consisted of an intermediate case between dendritic and equiaxed grains. Moreover, the use of an external static field in the twin-roll casting process can reduce heat discharge, resulting in a decrease in undercooling, and may also account for the abatement of segregation bands. In addition, the static magnetic field effectively improved the solute mixing capacity, and the added atoms more easily diffused from precipitates to the α-Al matrix, which resulted in an increase in the mechanical properties of the rolled sheets. Specimens prepared both in the presence of a static magnetic field and in the absence of a static magnetic field exhibited brittle-fracture characteristics.