Optimizing Zinc and Zinc Alloy Melts: The Synergistic Impact of Filtration and Ultrasonic Degassing

This study presents a novel approach that combines ceramic foam filtration with ultrasonic cavitation to enhance degassing in pure zinc, ZA12 and ZA27 alloys. Experimental results demonstrate that the synergistic application of these two techniques achieves superior densification (verified by reduced pressure test and density index) and melt purification (analyzed by CLSM porosity). After processing under the conditions of a filter PPI value of 20 ppi, a UST power of 1500 W, and a UST duration of 120 s, the density indices of P-Zn, ZA12, and ZA27 ingots all reached their minimum values, which were 0.02%, 1.47%, and 2.90%, respectively. The ultrasonic field promotes rapid dynamic changes in bubbles through intensified nucleation and coalescence, while filtration effectively removes macroscopic inclusions and unbroken bubbles, jointly reducing the density index of the ingot. These findings establish an optimized degassing strategy with direct industrial application value, particularly suitable for producing high-integrity zinc alloy components in automotive and precision engineering applications, advancing the development of non-ferrous metal melt treatment technologies.