MORGAN ADVANCED MATERIALS credits "a technological advance in materials science" for new series of crucibles developed by Morgan’s Molten Metal Systems business, claiming these units will last more than 50% longer than previously available crucibles used for aluminum casting.
VAluStar™ crucibles are highly resistant to oxidation at low temperatures thanks to Morgan’s proprietary glazes, and are particularly well suited to holding aluminum and aluminum alloys in electric resistance furnaces.
These high density, clay-bonded, iso-statically pressed crucibles have a high graphite and silicon carbide content. “We are confident they will add huge value to the aluminum casting industry by reducing downtime and maintenance, therefore increasing productivity,” according to Robin White, general manager.
“Our new family of crucibles has been developed to resist oxidation, which is a common challenge for operators in modern foundries and cast houses. We’ve rigorously tested them against other crucibles in similar operating conditions, and VAluStar™ has shown that it has a significantly longer lifetime than all other iso-statically pressed crucibles in low temperature applications,” White continued.
To demonstrate the difference, Morgan tested the VAluStar™ in a 24-hour, aluminum melting and holding application against a conventional iso-statically pressed crucible. The latter needed to be replaced after eight months due to a reduction in thermal conductivity and when top brim cracks occurred due to oxidation.
Meanwhile, the BNS 200 VAluStar™ crucible’s lifetime was 14 months, exceeding the conventional crucible’s service life by 75% in similar conditions. As well as the extended life of the crucible, thermal productivity was improved by 24%.
Both crucibles were split in half for analysis: While the conventional crucible showed brim oxidation and oxidation nests, the VAluStar™ crucible only showed a slight brim oxidation, which was caused by the insulation fiber
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