Case Study: Aluminum Crucible Maintenance & Cleaning

As all aluminum melters know, molten aluminum oxidizes on contact with the
atmosphere, producing an aluminum oxide layer. This oxide will adhere to the crucible
wall, thermocouples in the bath, and other tools used in the melting operation such as skimmers and
ladles. It can be especially tenacious and difficult to remove once it has hardened, so for crucible
maintenance, it is imperative that the oxide build-up is removed daily from crucible walls while still hot
and pliable. This is easily accomplished by manual cleaning, usually by scraping the crucible walls with a
metal tool. However, there is significant penalty for poor maintenance.

Effect of poor cleaning

This is especially critical for smaller shops who use batch melting, where the crucible furnace is shut
down overnight or for periods of time and then re-heated to aluminum
melting temperature. When heating, the slag/oxide layer expands much
faster than the crucible itself and the force of the expansion can crack the
crucible and lead to premature failure. The crucible pictured was cracked
due to the slag material that was allowed to build up on the crucible wall.
The chart below shows the % dilation (expansion) vs. temperature (in
Degree C). At aluminum melting temperature (about 600C) the slag has
expanded 10 times more than the crucible wall. It is estimated that ½ inch
layer of slag on the crucible wall is enough to break a crucible during this
expansion phase.
3
2.8
2.6
2.4 2.2
2.2
2
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4 0.2
0.2
0 SLAG CRUCIBLE
200 400 600 800 100 1200

Even in those crucibles that are continually full of molten aluminum and do not go through the shut-
down /start-up thermal expansion cycles, the additional slag build-up will act as insulation and reduce
the heat transfer through the crucible wall, decreasing the efficiency of the melting operation and
increasing energy costs.