Fabrication of lotus-type porous micro-channel copper by single-mold Gasar technique

• Main Authors: Liu Yuan, Zhuo Weijia, Zhang Huawei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Foundry Journal Agency 2014-11-01
• Series: China Foundry
• Subjects: porous metal; unidirectional solidification; Gasar process; withdrawal rate
• Online Access: http://foundryworld.com/uploadfile/2014122351170297.pdf

A single-mold Gasar technique was developed to produce lotus-type porous micro-channel copper with uniform porous structure. In this paper the effect of withdrawal rate on the solid/liquid interface morphology and the corresponding porous structure was systematically investigated, especially the pore morphology, pore growth direction, porosity, and pore diameter of porous copper ingots. In addition, a temperature field simulation was carried out based on ProCast software to investigate the shape and movement velocity of the solidifying solid/liquid interface. The experimental results show that the solidification interface changes from convex to planar, then to concave shape with an increase in withdrawal rate. The average porosities of copper ingots are constant and independent of the withdrawal rate. The average pore diameter decreases with an increase in withdrawal rate.