A method and apparatus for the
casting of a composite
metal ingot comprising at least two separately formed
layers of one or more alloys. An open ended annular mould has a feed end and an exit end and divider wall for dividing the feed end into at least two separate feed chambers, where each feed chamber is adjacent at least one other feed chamber. For each pair of adjacent feed chambers a first
alloy stream is fed through one of the pair of feed chambers into the mould and a second
alloy stream is fed through another of the feed chambers. A self-supporting surface is generated on the surface of the first
alloy stream and the second alloy stream is contacted with the first stream such that the upper surface of the second alloy stream is maintained at a position such that it first contacts the self-supporting surface where the self-supporting surface temperature is between the
liquidus and
solidus temperatures of the first alloy or it first contacts the self-supporting surface where the self-supporting surface temperature is below the
solidus temperatures of the first alloy but the interface between the two alloys is then reheated to between the
liquidus and
solidus temperatures, whereby the two alloy streams are joined as two
layers. The joined alloy
layers are then cooled to form a composite
ingot. This composite
ingot has a substantially continuous metallurgical bond between alloy layers with dispersed particles of one or more
intermetallic compositions of the first alloy in a region of the second alloy adjacent the interface. The combination of an alloy of high strength bonded to a
surface layer of higher
ductility gives a sheet of improved bendability compared to the high strength alloy used alone.