Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T03:13:58.288Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Bubble size control during the gas injection foaming process in aluminum alloy melt

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2015

Xingnan Liu
Affiliation:
Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China 100084; Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology, Beijing, China 100084; and The Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety, MOE, Beijing, China 100084
Yanxiang Li*
Affiliation:
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China100084; and Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing Technology, MOE, Beijing, China 100084
Xiang Chen
Affiliation:
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China100084; and Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing Technology, MOE, Beijing, China 100084
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

The influences of parameters on the bubble size in aluminum alloy melt during the gas injection foaming process were studied. The four parameters were the orifice diameter (0.4–3.0 mm), the orifice numbers (1 and 4), the gas chamber volume (11–800 cm3), and the gas flux (10–282 L/h). It was found that the bubble size decreased with the decrease of the orifice diameter and the gas chamber volume, and with the increase of the orifice number. The effect of gas flux showed a dual-stage at different gas fluxes: the “metastable large bubble stage” and the “stable bubbling stage”. A modified semiempirical formula and a concept of “effective gas chamber volume,” which is the nominal chamber volume divided by the effective orifice number, were proposed. The bubble size calculated by the modified formula with the effective gas chamber volume agreed well with the experimental data.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Chen, X. and Li, Y.X.: Porous metals: Research advances and applications. Mater. Rev. 17(5), 5 (2003).Google Scholar
Banhart, J.: Manufacture, characterization and application of cellular metals and metal foams. Prog. Mater. Sci. 46(6), 559 (2001).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Babcsán, N., Leitlmeier, D., Degischer, H.P., and Banhart, J.: The role of oxidation in blowing particle-stabilized aluminium foams. Adv. Eng. Mater. 6(6), 421 (2004).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kenny, L.D.: Mechanical properties of particle stabilized aluminum foam. Mater. Sci. Forum 217, 1883 (1996).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jin, I., Kenny, L.D., and Sang, H.: Method of producing lightweight foamed metal, US Patent No. 4973358, 1990.Google Scholar
Leitlmeier, D., Degischer, H.P., and Flankl, H.J.: Development of a foaming process for particle reinforced aluminum melts. Adv. Eng. Mater. 4(10), 735 (2002).3.0.CO;2-Y>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kulkarni, A.A. and Joshi, J.B.: Bubble formation and bubble rise velocity in gas–liquid systems: A review. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 44(16), 5873 (2005).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, G.Q., Du, B., and Fan, L.S.: Bubble formation and dynamics in gas–liquid–solid fluidization—A review. Chem. Eng. Sci. 62(1–2), 2 (2007).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gnyloskurenko, S., Byakova, A., Nakamura, T., and Raychenko, O.: Influence of wettability on bubble formation in liquid. J. Mater. Sci. 40(9–10), 2437 (2005).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davidson, L. and Amick, E.H.: Formation of gas bubbles at horizontal orifices. AIChE J. 2(3), 337 (1956).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Park, Y., Tyler, A.L., and Nevers, N.: The chamber orifice interaction in the formation of bubbles. Chem. Eng. Sci. 32(8), 907 (1977).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sano, M. and Mori, K.: Bubble formation from single nozzles in liquid metals. Trans. Jpn. Inst. Met. 17(6), 344 (1976).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Irons, G.A. and Guthrie, R.I.L.: Bubble formation at nozzles in pig iron. Metall. Mater. Trans. B 9(1), 101 (1978).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, X.N.: Study on the gas injection processing of aluminum foams. Doctoral Thesis, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 2011.Google Scholar
Liu, X.N., Li, Y.X., Chen, X., Liu, Y., and Fan, X.L.: Foam stability in gas injection foaming process. J. Mater. Sci. 45(23), 6481 (2010).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, X.N. and Li, Y.X.: Prediction of melt residual in batch type gas injection foaming process. J. Mater. Process. Technol. 212(1), 181 (2012).Google Scholar
Liu, P.S.: Determining methods for aperture and aperture distribution of porous materials. Titanium Ind. Prog. 23(2), 29 (2006).Google Scholar