Stability of metal-ceramic slurry after multiple re-melting of A359 aluminum alloy based composite reinforced with Al2O3 particles

The sessile drop method was adopted to investigate the effect of multiple re-melting and casting of metal matrix composite on the structural stability of metal-ceramic slurry. Commercial aluminum matrix composite made of the A359Al alloy reinforced with about 20 vol. % Al₂O₃ particles was produced by DURALCAN and next re-melted and re-cast ten times using two casting methods, i.e. conventional gravity casting and squeeze casting. The samples taken from all composite ingots produced after every cycle of re-melting and re-casting were used for high temperature tests at a temperature of 850°C for 30 min, under vacuum conditions. Both direct observations of the behavior of composite samples placed on alumina substrates during their contact heating and at the test temperature as well as the detailed structural characterization of solidified droplets have shown high structural stability of the metal-ceramic slurry, irrespective of the number of re-melts and type of casting process used afterwards. The high stability of the originally obtained composite microstructure in each subsequent re-melting step in this study also entitles one to question the widely accepted opinion on the difficulties with re-melting of cast composites, and thus their unsuitability for recycling.

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