Characteristics of Stainless Steel Strip Cast by Twin Rolls

Experiments on the strip casting of a Type 304 stainless steel have been done by the use of a twin-roll caster with the copper alloy rolls of 400mm diameter and 300mm wide. Cast strips of 120kg with good shape and appearance were obtained with high reproducibility. The casting speed was 17-40m/min, and the length and thickness of the strip were about 30m and O.8-2.3mm, respectively. At an early stage of the casting operation the thickness reduces rapidly, and then approaches a constant value. According to the analysis of heat transfer and thermal expansion of rolls, the early decrease in thickness seems to be caused by the thermal expansion of rolls. The cast strip is not free from defects which should be minimized. The microstructure and segregation of the cast strip have also been inves-tigated. The tensile properties of the cold rolled sheets by this process satisfy those as a Type 304 stainless steel.