Irkutsk National Research Technical University, Irkutsk, Russia:

M. P. Kuzmin, Associate Professor at the Department of Non-Ferrous Metallurgy, Candidate of Technical Sciences, e-mail: mike12008@yandex.ru
L. M. Larionov, Research Fellow at the Centre for Innovation & Technology, e-mail: larionov59@rambler.ru
M. Yu. Kuzmina, Associate Professor, Associate Professor at the Department of Non-Ferrous Metallurgy, Candidate of Chemical Sciences, e-mail: kuzmina.my@yandex.ru
A. S. Kuzmina, Candidate of Physics & Mathematics Sciences, Research Fellow at the Department of Nanostructural Synthesis, e-mail: kuzmina.istu@gmail.com

In the paper the survey of existing methods of obtaining silumins has been conducted. The possibility of obtaining of foundry alloys using amorphous microsilica as well as the prospects of this research area have been shown. Different methods of adding SiO₂ particles into molten aluminum have been studied: in the form of tableted master alloys “aluminum powder – SiO₂”, mixing particles in the melt in a semiliquid condition and introduction of silica particles together with a stream of argon. It has been determined that the most efficiency is inherent to the method of foundry silumins obtaining by reducing roasting of the silicon-containing burden (60% SiO₂ – 40% Al – 20% 3NaF·2AlF₃) at t = 800 ^оC and induction smelting of sinter together with aluminum under the layer of low modulus cryolite was studied. It has been established that silicon, which is formed during the roasting of the tableted burden (as a result of reactions in solid phases), is smoothly absorbed by the aluminum melt. Aluminum oxide, obtained during the redox reaction, dissolves in cryolite, after which aluminum and silicon are fused together and transferred to the melt. It has been determined that this method provides the complete absorption of silicon (from the composition if its oxide) in the aluminum melt and allows to obtain silumins corresponding to GOST 1583–93 with a silicon content of more than 16 wt. %. The coefficients of materials consumption (based on laboratory experiments results) suggest the possibility of industrial implementation of the proposed method that can allow to improve the efficiency of existing process of obtaining silumins due to partial exclusion from it the energy-intensive stage of silicon, production, as well as to reduce the environmental burden on the environment.
The study was funded by a grant to support financially the scientific and teaching teams of Irkutsk National Research Technical University.

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