A study of mechanical isotropy of continuous cast and direct chill cast AA5182 Al alloys

Hot band of an AA5182 Al alloy produced by a continuous cast (CC) method was heat treated at 400 °C and two heating rates, 0.65 °C/min for 3 h in an air furnace and 833 °C/min for 15 min in salt bath annealing, respectively. It was found that rapid heating led to a much smaller, more equiaxed and uniform grain structure, and a stronger cube texture than slow heating. The cube texture in the CC hot band annealed at the rapid heating rate was equivalent to that found in the direct chill (DC) cast AA5182 Al alloy hot band. Tensile, earing cup and bending tests were conducted on the CC hot band before and after heat treatments and on the DC hot band for comparison. The mechanical isotropy of the CC hot band was significantly improved after both the heat treatments and that it was comparable to that of the equivalent DC hot band within the rolling plane. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the CC hot band after annealing were comparable to those of the DC hot band.