Effect of Zeolite Addition on the Production of a Cast Porous Composite Based on AC-AlSi11 Silumin

The paper presents the application of the casting method for the production of porous composites, called syntactic foams, of the casting alloy - solid particles type. This method was used to produce composites based on Al alloys reinforced with particles of clinoptilolite, a natural mineral from the zeolite group. Before the casting process, tests were carried out on the morphology, physicochemical properties and chemical composition of the zeolite, which was obtained from a rock called zeolite tuff, mined in a quarry in Kucin, (VSK PRO-ZEO s.r.o., Slovakia). Observations of the microstructure of the produced composites were also carried out using a scanning electron microscope. Diffractometric tests of zeolite rock as delivered for research and of the produced samples reinforced with zeolite particles were also carried out. Initial studies of the density and porosity of the produced composites were performed. The usefulness of the presented method of composite production was assessed on the basis of the conducted structural tests, with particular emphasis on the particle distribution in the alloy matrix.