Wetting behavior of Al alloys on a TiH2 substrate

The wetting behavior of Al–Ge alloys on TiH₂ substrates was investigated by an improved sessile drop method under high vacuum and in a temperature range of 773–818 K. Results indicate that the equilibrium contact angles of Al–Ge/TiH₂ increase linearly with temperature according to the following formula: θ = 0.2882T ? 85.04, and decrease linearly as the Ge content increases from 25.2% to 36.2% according to the formula: θ = 214 ? 200Ge (wt.%). The worst wetting behavior was obtained for a pure Al/TiH₂ system at its foaming temperature (973 K). TiH₂ particles were prone to aggregate and were thus difficult to disperse. This could be one of the reasons for closed-cell aluminum foam products having non-uniform pores.