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US 11,525,178 B2Granted
Method for improving the wetting of a surface of a solid substrate by a liquid metal
AssigneeConstellium Issoire
InventorsJean-Louis Achard, Fabio Taina
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Abstract
The invention is a method for treating a solid substrate, made from a first material, of metal or ceramic type, the method comprising placing the substrate in contact with a liquid metal, while the substrate is exposed to an ultrasonic wave called a power wave. At the level of a surface of the substrate, the power density is greater than a cavitation threshold of the liquid metal. Such exposure improves the wettability of the substrate surface by the liquid metal.
Claims20
A method of treating a solid substrate comprising the steps of:
- a) bringing the solid substrate into contact with a liquid metal confined inside an enclosure;
- b) propagating an ultrasonic power wave, emitted by a power ultrasound generating device, in the liquid metal, the ultrasonic power wave propagating though the liquid metal before reaching the surface of the solid substrate, in such a way that at said surface of the substrate, a power density of the ultrasonic power wave is greater than a cavitation threshold of the liquid metal, the frequency of the ultrasonic power wave being between 10 kHz and 250 kHz;
- c) following the propagation of the ultrasonic power wave, obtaining cavitation bubbles in the liquid metal, the cavitation bubbles reaching the surface of the solid substrate, the interaction of the cavitation bubbles with the surface of the solid substrate increasing the wettability of the latter by the liquid metal;
- wherein the ultrasonic power wave propagates from the power generator and passes through an interface surface extending into contact with the liquid metal, the method comprising the formation of cavitation bubbles inside a hyper-cavitation cone, in which the density of the cavitation bubbles is higher than outside the hyper-cavitation cone, the hyper-cavitation cone extending within the liquid metal from the interface surface, wherein, in step c), the solid substrate is arranged outside the hyper-cavitation cone.
1 more element
A method of treating a solid substrate comprising the steps of:
- a) bringing the solid substrate into contact with a liquid metal confined inside an enclosure;
- b) propagating an ultrasonic power wave, emitted by a power ultrasound generating device, in the liquid metal, the ultrasonic power wave propagating though the liquid metal before reaching the surface of the solid substrate, in such a way that at said surface of the substrate, a power density of the ultrasonic power wave is greater than a cavitation threshold of the liquid metal, the frequency of the ultrasonic power wave being between 10 kHz and 250 kHz;
- c) following the propagation of the ultrasonic power wave, obtaining cavitation bubbles in the liquid metal, the cavitation bubbles reaching the surface of the solid substrate, the interaction of the cavitation bubbles with the surface of the solid substrate increasing the wettability of the latter by the liquid metal;
- wherein an ultrasonic control device propagates an ultrasonic control wave, within the liquid metal, through a surface known as a coupling surface, the coupling surface being a surface of the solid substrate extending into contact with the liquid metal;
- wherein the solid substrate is delimited by the coupling surface;
- and
- wherein, during step c), the wettability of the surface of the solid substrate by the liquid metal is increased so as to improve transmission of the ultrasonic control wave within the liquid metal, through the coupling surface.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.