The Application of Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT) to Study Inclusions in the Casting Process

Abstract:

The behavior of inclusions in castings was studied using radioactive labeling of oxide particles located by Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT). This uses the isotope ¹⁸F, which has a half-life of 110 minutes, and allows particle detection within an accuracy of a few mm. Alumina and glass particles with a size range of 110 to 600 μm were made radioactive by an ion-exchange/surface adsorption process involving irradiated water. Individual radioactive particles were placed in resin-bonded sand moulds at known initial positions, and the moulds were filled with Al alloy, causing the particle to be entrained into the metal stream during the casting process. A modular γ-ray positron camera was used to track the paths of the particles within the mould, demonstrating the applicability of the technique to the study of inclusion behaviour in castings.

• Periodical: Materials Science Forum (Volume 690)
• Pages: 25-28
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.690.25
• Online since: June 2011
• Authors: David J. Burnard, Joseph Gargiuli, Thomas Leadbeater, David J. Parker, William D. Griffiths
• Keywords: Al Alloy, Casting, Inclusion, PEPT, Positron Emission Particle Tracking, Radioactivity

References

[1] D.J. Parker, T.W. Leadbeater, X. Fan, M.N. Hausard, A. Ingram and Z. Yang: Nucl. Instr. and Methods in Phys. Res. A Vol. 604 (2009), p.339.

[2] D.J. Parker and X Fan: Particuology Vol. 6 (2008), p.16

[3] X. Fan, D.J. Parker and M.D. Smith: Nucl. Instr. and Methods in Phys. Res. A Vol. 562 (2006) p.345.

[4] W.D. Griffiths, Y. Beshay, D.J. Parker and X. Fan, J. Mat. Sci., Vol. 43 (2008), p.6853.

[5] W.D. Griffiths, D.J. Parker, X. Fan and M. Hausard, Mat. Sci. Technol. Vol. 26 (2010), p.528.

[6] Y. Beshay, PhD thesis, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, (2010).