A simple procedure to assess the Complete Melt Quality in aluminium castings: implementation in a die-casting and a rheo-casting

ABSTRACT

A new simple approach was developed to assess the Complete Melt Quality of aluminium cast alloys throughout the production line. The approach relies on the concurrent use of reduced pressure tests (RPT) and tensile tests at each station in the production line when the melt is transferred and/or processed. These tests can be used to determine the source of melt-related problems in the production line. Two case studies from the procedure of both an aluminium die-casting and a rheo-casting plant showed that melts were significantly damaged in the tower furnace and got progressively more damaged through the production line proven by the RPT, tensile test, and fracture surface analysis results.

KEYWORDS:

• Melt transfers
• bifilms
• degassing
• liquid metal damage
• porosity

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Gustav Hellberg for his support in the casting experiments in Case 2.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The current paper was funded by the Vinnova Sveriges innovationsmyndighet and the IMPACT project DNR. 2019-02943 and by the Knowledge Foundation under the SPARK programme and the IRAP project DNR. 20200219 H.