Measurement Methods for Flux Residue Quantity after Controlled Atmosphere Brazing of Aluminum Coolers
[ 1 ] Wydział Inżynierii Mechanicznej, Politechnika Poznańska | [ 2 ] Instytut Technologii Materiałów, Wydział Inżynierii Mechanicznej, Politechnika Poznańska | [ 3 ] Instytut Inżynierii Materiałowej, Wydział Inżynierii Materiałowej i Fizyki Technicznej, Politechnika Poznańska | [ SzD ] doctoral school student | [ P ] employee
2023
scientific article
english
- heat exchangers
- brazing
- NOCOLOK
- Paint-Flux
- potassium fluoroaluminate
- metallography
EN The Controlled Atmosphere Brazing (CAB) process together with NOCOLOKr flux is associated with the occurrence of potassium fluoroaluminate residue inside the cooler. Excess of this flux residue is known to cause gelation of the coolant, which deteriorates the efficiency of the cooler. The flux residue amount is most often measured via Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS), in accordance with DIN ISO 9964-3. This is a time-consuming measurement that requires the use of specialized equipment and costly solvents. The following article presents two innovative methods for flux residue measurement after CAB process. They include Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and Reflected Light Microscopy (RLM) with Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) module. The accuracy of these methods has been compared to the reference AAS method to evaluate their potential as alternative, less expensive, and quicker measurement methods for determining the quantity of flux residue.
28.08.2023
156 - 163
Poznań University of Technology
CC BY (attribution alone)
open journal
final published version
at the time of publication
100
0,9