Effects of Minor Elements on the Oxidation of Aluminum

Oxidation of aluminum during melting and casting of aluminum is one of the major sources of loss in industry where up to 7% of the aluminum can be lost to oxidation. Previous work has shown that the addition of certain elements such as beryllium in concentrations of less than 1% can have a significant impact on the oxidation rate.
The goal of this project is to gain a fundamental understanding of how the selected minor elements imact the oxidation. Then I will make suggestions to industry of how to reduce metal loss to oxidation. 

Resource Group: Professor Gabriella Tranell (NTNU), Egil Solberg (Alcoa), Christian Rosenkilde (NTNU), Shahid Akhatar (Hydro), Jørgen Furu (Hydro)

Contact: nicholas.smith@ntnu.no