Nanostructure of Aluminum Oxide Inclusion and Formation of Hydrogen Bubbles in Molten Aluminum

Abstract

Hydrogen in molten aluminum is one of the major factors that lead to pore formation in the solidification process of aluminum castings. Previous research showed that aluminum oxide inclusion had a close correlation with the hydrogen content in molten aluminum. Though some researchers thought there must have been a relationship between surface morphology of the inclusion and hydrogen concentration in molten aluminum, very few documents have reported on the surface property of aluminum oxide inclusion. In the present work, AFM (Atomic Force Microscope) was first used to investigate surface morphology of aluminum oxide inclusion in molten aluminum. It was found that there were a large number of nanoscale micropores on the surface of aluminum oxide inclusion. The interior of the micropores was approximated as a tapered shape. These micropores were thought to be helpful to heterogeneous nucleation for hydrogen atoms aggregation because they provided necessary concentration fluctuation and energy undulation for the growth of hydrogen bubbles. Based on the nanostructure observed on the surface of aluminum oxide inclusion, a theoretical model was developed to describe the hydrogen pore formation in aluminum casting under the condition of heterogeneous nucleation.