A New Strategy on Designing Fluxes for Aluminum Alloy Melt Refinement

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Metallurgy
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Aluminum refining is crucial for producing high-quality castings.
• Existing fluxes may lack stability and optimal refining efficiency.
• Developing improved flux compositions is an ongoing industrial need.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and evaluate a novel, stable, and effective refining flux for aluminum melts.
• To investigate the thermophysical and thermodynamic properties of new flux compositions.
• To compare the refining performance of the new flux with a current industry standard.

Main Methods:

• Flux design based on thermophysical parameters, physical properties, and thermodynamic analysis.
• Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) for melting point determination.
• X-ray Diffraction (XRD) for phase transformation analysis.
• Contact angle measurements and metallographic microscopy for refining evaluation.
• Thermodynamic analysis of inclusion removal and degassing processes.

Main Results:

• Ten flux compositions were designed and tested.
• Flux #10 exhibited a melting point below the refining temperature (562.2 °C).
• Flux #10 achieved the lowest contact angle (12.78°) at the refining temperature (760 °C).
• Flux #10 reduced pores and inclusions from 2.96% to 1.11%, outperforming flux STJ-A3.

Conclusions:

• The proposed strategy for flux design is effective in creating stable and efficient refining fluxes.
• Flux #10 represents a significant improvement in aluminum melt refining technology.
• The optimized flux composition offers enhanced removal of inclusions and gases, leading to higher quality aluminum.