Complexities in the Assessment of Melt Quality

Abstract

If high-performance aluminium castings are to be produced, the melt quality needs to be properly assured. Multiple tests for melt quality assessment exist and have previously been analysed. In most studies, the techniques were used separately. In this work, reduced pressure, fluidity, Prefil and tensile tests were evaluated. A commercial EN 46000 alloy was used as the base material with additions of 25 and 50 wt% machining chips to degrade the melt quality. In reduced pressure and fluidity tests, oxides floated to the top of samples, decreasing the reliability. Bifilm index increased with addition level, but not correspondingly. Density index, Prefil and fluidity tests did not present significant variations, and tensile properties only deteriorated with the 50 wt% addition level. The investigated techniques provided information, but measuring the melt quality reliably remains a challenge.