Simulation and Experimental of Infiltration and Solidification Process for Al₂O_3(3D)/5083Al Interpenetrating Phase...

Understanding the infiltration and solidification processes of liquid 5083Al alloy into Al₂O₃ three-dimensional reticulated porous ceramic (Al₂O_3(3D) RPC) is essential for optimizing the microstructure and properties of Al₂O_3(3D)/5083Al interpenetrating phase composites (IPCs) prepared by low-pressure infiltration process (LPIP). This study employs ProCAST software to simulate the infiltration and solidification processes of liquid 5083Al with pouring velocities (PV) of 0.4 m/s infiltrating into Al₂O_3(3D) RPC preforms with varying porosities at different pouring temperatures (PT) to prepare Al₂O_3(3D)/5083Al IPCs using LPIP. The results demonstrate that pore diameter of Al₂O_3(3D) RPC preforms and PT of liquid 5083Al significantly influence the of the infiltration. Solidification process analysis reveals that the Al₂O_3(3D) RPC preform with smaller pore diameters allows the lower pouring velocity of 5083Al to solidify faster compared to the preform with larger pore diameters. Al₂O_3(3D)/5083Al IPCs were prepared successfully from Al₂O_3(3D) RPC porosity of 15 PPI with liquid 5083Al at PV 0.4 m/s and PT 800 °C using LPIP, resulting in nearly fully dense composites, where both Al₂O_3(3D) RPCs and 5083Al interpenetrate throughout the microstructure. The infiltration and solidification defects were reduced under air pressure of 0.3 MPa (corresponding to PV of 0.4 m/s) during LPIP. Finite volume method simulations are in good agreement with experimental data, validating the suitability of the simplified model for Al₂O_3(3D) RPCs in the infiltration simulation.