*Article* **Fabrication of Mg/Al Clad Strips by Direct Cladding from Molten Metals**

**Gengyan Feng 1,\*, Hisaki Watari <sup>2</sup> and Toshio Haga <sup>3</sup>**


**Abstract:** This work describes the fabrication of AZ91D/A5052 clad strips by direct cladding from molten metals using a horizontal twin roll caster. Subsequently, the effects of roll speed, pouring sequence, and solidification length on the AZ91D/A5052 clad strips were investigated. The AZ91D/A5052 clad strips with a thickness of 4.9 mm were successfully cast at a roll speed of 9 m/min and with a 5 mm roll gap. The cladding ratio of AZ91D/A5052 was about 1:1. The singleroll casting results showed that the experimental solidification constants of AZ91D and A5052 were 62 mm/min0.5 and 34 mm/min0.5, respectively. The twin-roll casting results showed that the effect of rolling speed on the surface condition of A5052 was greater than that of AZ91D. In addition, the high melting point A5052 alloy poured into the lower nozzle could solve the remelting problem of the low melting point AZ91D. Moreover, extending the upper solidification distance could reduce the generation of intermetallic compounds. The EDS analysis results showed no voids at the bonding interface, while three intermetallic compound layers were also found at the bonding interface of AZ91D/A5052 strips, namely α-Mg + Mg17Al12, Mg17Al12, and Al3Mg2. This study could be instructive for dissimilar sheet metal bonding.

**Keywords:** magnesium alloy; aluminum alloy; twin-roll caster; molten metals; cladding
