A Review on Prerequisites of a Set-Up for Particle Detection by Ultrasonic Waves in Aluminium Melts

Mertol Gökelma,Damien Latacz,Bernd Friedrich

doi:10.4236/ojmetal.2016.61002

Abstract

In many applications in aluminium industry, the number of inclusion-critical products increases and the quality of those products depend on the inclusion concentration and size. In order to improve the quality of aluminium products and the effectiveness of the processes, a reliable and cheaper on-line detection method is needed. Ultrasonic detection has been used in steel industry, but relatively rare in aluminium industry, although it would theoretically allow for an online non-intrusive detection of the cleanliness of the melt. In this work, the current information on ultrasonic inclusion detection was gathered and recommendations were provided on the Prerequisites for a set-up for ultrasonic detection of non-metallic inclusions in aluminium as a contribution on previous works. It has been concluded that ultrasonic waves seem promising, and should be experimented more on an industrial level to have a clear view on the potentials of the method.

Highlights

Aluminium is widely present in daily life, being used in transportation, packaging, electrical engineering and many other fields
Ultrasonic detection has been used in steel industry, but relatively rare in aluminium industry, it would theoretically allow for an online non-intrusive detection of the cleanliness of the melt [1] [4] [5] [7] [8] [10]-[12]
A set-up for detection by ultrasonic waves might be described in 4 parts: the piezoelectric transducer in charge of producing the waves, the rods which are transmitting the waves to the melt, the interface between the rods and the melt, and the interface between the waves inside the melt and the particles

Summary

Introduction

Aluminium is widely present in daily life, being used in transportation, packaging, electrical engineering and many other fields. Despite having the advantage of being an on-line detection method (semi real time), the LiMCA system usually detects particles in the range of 15 to 150 μm It has difficulties by detecting smaller particles, and information about the shape of inclusions or their global concentration in the melt is not possible to obtain since the sampling volume is only 6 ml. It is an expensive system [2] [6].

Motivation

Background of the Ultrasonics

Applied Ultrasonic Methods for Aluminium

Conclusions

Future Prospective