Twin Roll Casting and Rolling of New Mg-Wrought Alloys for Body Protective Safety Equipment

Abstract

Currently magnesium alloys are used for different applications in the transportation industry where cast magnesium alloys dominate the market. Although cast alloys predominate over wrought products such as extrusions, forgings, sheet and plate, the latter are also being used in a variety of different applications. Recently, a growing interest in the automotive industry in looking at potential applications for magnesium turned back towards wrought alloys. Typically, applications of magnesium sheets are sought in automotive or aeronautics industry. However, the spectrum of potential applications can be significantly expanded. For example, body protection systems for civil services like police, custom officers and prison personnel currently include anatomically shaped aluminium alloy sheets. Replacement of aluminium alloys by magnesium to result in substantial weight savings up to 30%.