Assessment of Quality when Delivering Molten Aluminium Alloys Instead of Ingots

• Recycled aluminium alloys manufactured at Stena Aluminium, in Älmhult, Sweden, are delivered in special designed transport containers, called thermoses. Thermoses are best described as an insulating layer protected by a steel cover with a heat loss of about 5 degrees/h. Three thermoses are transported by a truck, giving the possibility for a total capacity of about 24 tonnes delivered aluminium just-in-time to the foundry. By delivering a full load of liquid aluminium, about 2 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions are saved, compared with delivering ingots. The aim of the paper is to assess the quality benefits, in terms of inclusions sedimentation and mechanical properties, assured by delivering aluminiummelts instead of ingots. The results indicate that materials produced by just-in-time melt delivery have slightly improved quality compared to ingots. The trends are explained in terms of quality, density and bifilm indexes, based on microstructural observations as well as tensile test data analysis.

Subject headings

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

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

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)