A novel method for automated quantification of particles in solidified aluminium

• Particle concentration and size distribution in the melt can give important information regarding the filtration efficiency and the quality of the aluminium. LiMCA (Liquid Metal Cleanliness Analyser) system, used in primary and secondary production of aluminium, provides in-situ data for granulometric and total density information on the inclusion content, but has problems quantifying particles < 20 μm in size. To be able to determine the required cleanliness with particle counts down' to 10 μm for modern alloys a novel method for automated quantitative results has been developed. Results are obtained using a user friendly technique based on the ImagePro® Plus 7.0 software. The different image processing steps adopted for automated quantification of the particle count in a size range from 2 to 50 μm is described and discussed together with the obtained results. The automated technique has been benchmarked elsewhere with a manual particle count reviling an error of ∼3% on the overall filtration efficiency.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Materialteknik -- Metallurgi och metalliska material (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Materials Engineering -- Metallurgy and Metallic Materials (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Automation

Image processing

ImagePro® Plus 7.0

Melt quality

Particle counting

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)