A Rapid Method To Evaluate The Content Of Inclusions In Aluminum Alloy Melt

With the complexity of aluminum alloy castings and the wide application of various high-performance aluminum alloys,the lower content of inclusions will also affect the mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of aluminum alloys.Few researches have been done on the detection of inclusions quantificationally,and there is no effective detection method to monitor the melt quality before pouring in domestic enterprises.This paper proposes a novel method to evaluate the content of aluminum alloy melt inclusions,aiming at meeting the needs of aluminum alloy manufacturer for estimating the result of melt purification,and based on this new method,a quantitative rapid detecting system for inclusions content in aluminum alloy melt was developed.In this paper,the research status of the method and device for the content of inclusions in aluminum alloy are reviewed.Based on the analysis and research on the advantages and disadvantages of other methods,a new method to detect the content of inclusions in aluminum alloy melt is mentioned by monitoring the pressure variation curve of the negative pressure system in the suction filtration process.The operating principle of the new method is detecting the pressure variation curve of the negative pressure system during filtering aluminum alloy melt under a constant initial pressure supplied by a vacuum pumping,and the inclusion content measurement can be characterized by comparing the test curve with the standard curve.A new system based on the new method of inclusion content in aluminum alloy melt is developed,the new system is mainly composed of probe unit,negative pressure unit,data acquisition and processing unit.The test system software is written by Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 tool.Under laboratory conditions,the liquid at room temperature and aluminum alloy melt were simulated respectively.Water simulation experiment was carried out by preparing pine powder with content of 0%-0.16%,the pressure variation curve of the negative pressure system is directly related to the content of pine powder,which proves that the shape of suction filter curve can better characterize the inclusion contents.Then,there is an experiment in aluminum melt with inclusion content of 0%-1.053%,and metallographic samples were prepared.The new method is proved to be feasible by the fact that the curve can reflect the change of melt inclusion content.Finally,different types of melts were selected for the filtration curve.Compared with the sample metallurgy,the detection curve and the metallographic result were found to be consistent.It is proved that the new method and the new system developed based on the new method can be used for rapid detection of inclusion content in aluminum alloy melt.