Oxide Hydrogen Interaction and Porosity Development in Al-Si Foundry Alloys

The oxide level of an A356 aluminium alloy will be controlled by (i) melting, casting and remelting A356 aluminium alloy for increasing the bi-films levels in the melt, and by (ii) additions of an extruded aluminium oxide rod directly to the melt. A clean A356 melt (no additions of any particulates) will be used as reference material. The melting experiments will be conducted in an electric resistance furnace under carefully controlled conditions. The three crucible experimental set-up, designed by SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, will be adopted to secure identical conditions for all three melts to be investigated. From each of the melts a series of reproducible castings will be made for tensile test measurements, as well as bend tests. The results from these tests will be statistically analysed. For the assessment of melt quality, in terms of inclusion count and bi-films index, the Porous Disc Filtration Apparatus (PoDFA) and the Reduced Pressure Test (RPT) will be adopted. For the analysis of fracture behaviour Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDX) will be use. The dissolved hydrogen level will be measured by adopting an ALSPEC H probe.If time is given, the data generated in the present work will be compared with results previously obtained by SINTEF Materials and Chemistry for experiments conducted under similar conditions. It is believed that the results from the present study will provide a sound basis for understanding the fundamentals of the key issues involve in the production of high quality aluminium castings