The effect of crystallographic orientation of α-Al2O3on the wetting behavior and adhesion characteristics of aluminum droplets

Junting Zhuo; Zhiyuan Rui; Xin Lyu; Dongyun He; Simin Ding; Huaming Sun; Yun Dong

doi:10.1088/1361-648X/ad24bc

The effect of crystallographic orientation of α-Al₂O₃on the wetting behavior and adhesion characteristics of aluminum droplets

J Phys Condens Matter. 2024 Feb 12;36(19). doi: 10.1088/1361-648X/ad24bc.

Authors

Junting Zhuo¹, Zhiyuan Rui¹, Xin Lyu¹, Dongyun He¹, Simin Ding¹, Huaming Sun¹, Yun Dong¹

Affiliation

¹ School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou 730050, People's Republic of China.

PMID: 38295435
DOI: 10.1088/1361-648X/ad24bc

Abstract

To solve the problem of adhesion of aluminum fluid to the inner wall of the vacuum ladle in the aluminum electrolysis industry, molecular dynamics simulation is performed to research the wetting behavior of Al droplets on the surfaces of theα-Al₂O₃substrates C (0001), M (11-00), and R (11-02) at 1073 K. Meanwhile, the adhesion characteristics of the Al droplet are evaluated by the potential of the mean force (PMF) for the separation of the Al droplets from different surfaces of theα-Al₂O₃substrate. The results show that the wetting behavior of Al droplets on theα-Al₂O₃substrate is influenced by the different crystallographic orientations. The diffusion of Al droplets in thex-o-yplane of the substrate exhibits isotropic. The PMF and the interfacial potential energy reveal that the magnitude of the adhesion work in the solid-liquid separation of Al droplets fromα-Al₂O₃substrates follows the order C (0001) > R (11-02) > M (11-00). These findings characterize the wetting properties and adhesion behavior of Al droplets on an atomic scale and provide a theoretical basis for the selection of materials for the inner wall of the vacuum ladle.

Keywords: adhesion; crystallographic orientation; molecular dynamics; wetting.