Wetting behavior of aluminium and filtration with Al2O3 and SiC ceramic foam filters

The wetting behavior between liquid aluminium and substrates made from industrial Al2O3 and SiC based ceramic foam filters (CFF) was investigated. The same CFF filters were also tested in plant scale filtration experiments. The wetting experiment results show that the SiC based filter material is better wetted by liquid aluminium than the Al2O3 based filter material. This indicates that the improved wetting of aluminium on a filter material is an advantage for molten metal to infiltrate the filter during priming. Also, better wetting of Al-filter might increase the removal efficiency of inclusions during filtration due to better contact between filter and metal. Non-wetted inclusions are easier to be removed.