Corundum dissolution in concentrated sodium hydroxide solution

Abstract

The corundum (α-alumina) core has been considered as a suitable candidate for investment casting of hollow, high pressure turbine engine airfoils due to its excellent properties. However, the efficiency of removing alumina cores in concentrated caustic solution cannot meet the needs of industrial production. In this paper, the effects of temperature and initial solution concentration on dissolution of α-alumina were studied by the classical weight-loss method. The fractal kinetic model was developed in order to describe α-alumina dissolution, assuming that the nonporous particles shrank during reaction process. The results show that the dissolution rate increases with increasing reaction temperature and initial solution concentration. Especially, the initial solution concentration has a significant influence on α-alumina dissolution rate at a higher reaction temperature. The activation energies decrease with increasing initial solution concentration, and the chemical reaction is the rate-controlling step.