The Influence of Grain Refiners on the Efficiency of Ceramic Foam Filters

An extensive program of work has been carried out to evaluate the efficiency of ceramic foam filters under carefully controlled conditions. Work reported at previous TMS meetings showed that in the absence of grain refiners, ceramic foam filters have the capacity for high filtration efficiency and consistent, reliable performance. The current phase of the investigation focuses on the impact grain refiner additions have on filter performance. The high filtration efficiencies obtained using 50 or 80ppi CFF’s in the absence of grain refiners diminish when Al-3%Ti-1%B grain refiners are added. This, together with the impact of incoming inclusion loading on filter performance and the level of grain refiner addition are considered in detail. The new generation Al-3%Ti-0.15%C grain refiner has also been included. At typical addition levels (1kg/tonne) the effect on filter efficiency is similar to that for TiB2based grain refiners. The work was again conducted on a production scale using AA1050 alloy. Metal quality was determined using LiMCA and PoDFA. Spent filters were also analysed.