APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR APPLYING CERAMIC FOAM FILTERS FOR THE REMOVAL OF UNWANTED INCLUSIONS FROM METAL MELTS

摘要

Apparatus and a method for filtering molten metal, in particular aluminium, including a container (1) with a removable lid (20) provided on top of the container to keep the container sealed (air tight) during operation, the container (1) being provided with an inlet chamber (2) having an inlet opening (5) receiving metal from a metal supply launder (10) and outlet chamber (3) with outlet opening (6) connected to a launder segment (10′). The container further being provided with partition wall (8) between the inlet chamber (2) and outlet chamber (3) and with ceramic foam filter (17) mounted in the outlet chamber. The inlet chamber (2) and outlet chamber (3) are provided side by side within the container (1) and being split by the partition wall (8) extending from the bottom of the container and upwardly to a preset level of the container interior height. The container (1) is connected in parallel with the metal supply launder (10) via stubs (5′, 6′) that communicates with the inlet (5) and outlet (6) openings respectively, the launder (10) being provided with a dam (14) or valve device downstream the outlet (6) of the container (1) and another dam or valve device (13) between the said launder stubs (5′ and 6′). Inside the container (1) there is further arranged a second outlet chamber (4) with a filter (17′) that when in use, communicates with the first outlet chamber (3) via a space above a partition wall (8) extending from the bottom of the container and upwardly to a preset level of the container interior height, where the second outlet chamber (4) has one outlet (7) provided by a stub (7′) connected to a launder segment (10″) being in connection with metal supply launder (10). The second outlet chamber (4) is used for increasing the filter capacity when producing metal with a high cleanliness.