from the conferences organized by TANGER Ltd.
During the production of metal cast parts for safety-critical applications, it is common practice to reduce unwanted impurities by filtration of the liquid metal using ceramic foam filters before the melt enters the casting mold. A critical stage of the filtration process is the infiltration of the ceramic foam during start-up (commonly called priming), especially when the filter cannot be preheated, as heat loss to the filter may lead to freezing and possibly casting failure, usually requiring foundries to use higher casting temperatures. The present study is motivated by reducing this risk through an improved understanding of its sensitivity with respect to the process parameters and geometric properties of the filter. Therefore, the infiltration process was numerically simulated using a 2D pore-scale model, enabling extensive parameter variations. The results are consistent with experimental observations of the process, provide insights into the detailed mechanisms promoting freezing, and offer guidance for improved process control and filter geometry design.
Keywords: Ceramic foam filter, priming, infiltration, CFD, pore-scale simulation© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.