Simulation and Experimental of Infiltration and Solidification Process for Al2O3(3D)/5083Al Interpenetrating Phase Composite for High Speed Train Prepared by Low-Pressure Infiltration

Yanli Jiang; Pianpian Xu; Chen Zhang; Fengjun Jin; Yichao Li; Xiuling Cao; Liang Yu

doi:10.3390/ma16206634

Simulation and Experimental of Infiltration and Solidification Process for Al₂O_3(3D)/5083Al Interpenetrating Phase Composite for High Speed Train Prepared by Low-Pressure Infiltration

Materials (Basel). 2023 Oct 11;16(20):6634. doi: 10.3390/ma16206634.

Authors

Yanli Jiang¹, Pianpian Xu¹, Chen Zhang¹, Fengjun Jin¹, Yichao Li¹, Xiuling Cao^{2

3}, Liang Yu^{1

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of New Processing Technology for Nonferrous Metals & Materials, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China.
² Hebei Technology Innovation Center for Intelligent Development and Control of Underground Built Environment, Shijiazhuang 050031, China.
³ School of Exploration Technology and Engineering, Hebei GEO University, Shijiazhuang 050031, China.
⁴ Collaborative Innovation Center for Exploration of Nonferrous Metal Deposits and Efficient Utilization of Resources, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China.
⁵ Guangxi Modern Industry College of Innovative Development in Nonferrous Metal Material, Guilin 541004, China.

Abstract

Understanding the infiltration and solidification processes of liquid 5083Al alloy into Al₂O₃ three-dimensional reticulated porous ceramic (Al₂O_3(3D) RPC) is essential for optimizing the microstructure and properties of Al₂O_3(3D)/5083Al interpenetrating phase composites (IPCs) prepared by low-pressure infiltration process (LPIP). This study employs ProCAST software to simulate the infiltration and solidification processes of liquid 5083Al with pouring velocities (PV) of 0.4 m/s infiltrating into Al₂O_3(3D) RPC preforms with varying porosities at different pouring temperatures (PT) to prepare Al₂O_3(3D)/5083Al IPCs using LPIP. The results demonstrate that pore diameter of Al₂O_3(3D) RPC preforms and PT of liquid 5083Al significantly influence the of the infiltration. Solidification process analysis reveals that the Al₂O_3(3D) RPC preform with smaller pore diameters allows the lower pouring velocity of 5083Al to solidify faster compared to the preform with larger pore diameters. Al₂O_3(3D)/5083Al IPCs were prepared successfully from Al₂O_3(3D) RPC porosity of 15 PPI with liquid 5083Al at PV 0.4 m/s and PT 800 °C using LPIP, resulting in nearly fully dense composites, where both Al₂O_3(3D) RPCs and 5083Al interpenetrate throughout the microstructure. The infiltration and solidification defects were reduced under air pressure of 0.3 MPa (corresponding to PV of 0.4 m/s) during LPIP. Finite volume method simulations are in good agreement with experimental data, validating the suitability of the simplified model for Al₂O_3(3D) RPCs in the infiltration simulation.

Keywords: Al2O33D/5083Al; Infiltration; ProCAST; numerical simulation; solidification.

Grants and funding

The work was supported by Guangxi Innovation Driven Development Project (Grant No. AA17204021), the foundation of Guangxi Key Laboratory of Optical and Electronic Materials and Devices (No. 20KF-4), and Foundation of introduction of senior talents in Hebei Province (H192003015).