Improvement of Wettability of SiC and Al2O3 Particles by Molten Aluminum

Particles of SiC and AI2O3 have been activated with NaOH solution in order to improve their wettability by molten aluminum. An infiltration technique was employed to measure the wettability of the investigated particles, activated and inactivated ones. The wettability of a particle was manifested by means of the infiltration distance of molten aluminum inside the particle under different infiltration conditions. It was found that, in all particles, the activated ones have better wettability than the inactivated ones. Examining the product castings with environmental scanning microscopy, ESEM, showed the presence of Na + and O" spectrum in the case of activated particles which suggested the presence of some interfacial/interactions that improved the wettability of activated particles by molten aluminum.