Experimental study on twin-roll strip casting of Cu-9Ni-6Sn alloy

A strip billet of Cu-9Ni-6Sn alloy was prepared by vacuum melting and twin-roll casting while another billet with the same chemical composition was prepared by vacuum melting and general casting. Component distribution and microstructure of the two kinds of copper alloy from different processing procedures were analysed by metallographic examination and SEM. The results showed that there were massive dendritic crystals with obvious segregation of tin in the sample prepared by general casting. The sample processed by twin-roll casting process had more fine grains with homogenous distributed tin compared to that prepared by general casting. The results demonstrated that the fine grains with homogenous distributed tin were caused by the excellent cooling ability of twin-roll casting. The extremely fast cooling speed retained the homogenous component distribution in molten condition and there was no time for grains to grow up. The experiment indicated twin-roll casting was a feasible process to produce Cu-9Ni-6Sn alloy.