To investigate the processes of continuous annealing and MgO coating of grain-oriented silicon steel (GO), a pilot-scale line was developed, which could realize functions such as cleaning, heating, decarburization, reduction, nitriding, and MgO coating in a coil-to-coil manner. A significant feature of the pilot line is the integrated furnace consisting of six furnace units and the inbetween separating devices, which work collaboratively to adjust the lengths, and to separate the annealing atmospheres and temperatures of the different process sections. A series of test runs and experiments was carried out on the line. The results showed that the pilot line had the characteristics of flexible process, accurate process parameters control and reliable atmosphere separation. The results of decarburization, reduction, nitriding, and coating met the requirements of GO. The pilot line provided an excellent platform for the experimental study of the processes of continuous annealing and MgO coating of GO.

A 6063 aluminum alloy thin slab with a cross-section of 260 × 40 mm2 was prepared by a vertical bending continuous casting (VC) process. The effects of homogenization, hot rolling and subsequent heat treatments on the microstructure and properties of the as-cast slabs and as-rolled sheets were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), field emission electron probe (EPMA), macro- and micro-structure observation and tensile tests. The results show that the as-cast structure of AA 6063 was dominated by fine and uniform equiaxed grains. After homogenization, all Mg2Si phases dissolved back, and the Fe-containing intermetallic phases changed from acicular β-Al5FeSi phase to spherical α-Al8Fe2Si phase. Homogenizing heat treatment before hot rolling can improve the mechanical properties of the alloy. However, in the case of direct rolling without homogenization, the alloy still has good mechanical properties; the strength and plasticity are comparable to that obtained through traditional direct chill (DC) casting, homogenizing and extruding processes, indicating that the VC process has the potential to realize continuous casting and rolling.