Wetting of aluminium and carbon interface during preparation of Al-Ti-C grain refiner under ultrasonic field

•Providing a new method for the preparation of Al-Ti-C grain refiner.•The contact angle θ of aluminum-carbon interface is reduced under ultrasonic field.•TiC particles are detached from the interface driven by sound pressure, which results that the wetting interface is updated in real time.•The wetting and spreading of the aluminum melt on the graphite surface under ultrasonic field are simulated. In the preparation of an Al-Ti-C grain refiner under an ultrasonic field, the mechanism of the wetting behaviour between Al and C was systematically investigated. The results demonstrated that the wetting behaviour was mainly dependent on the wetting of the Al melt on graphite under the ultrasonic field (physical wetting) and the formation and mass transfer of TiC (reactive wetting). The diffusion of Ti atoms and their adsorption around the graphite could contribute to the wetting of Al-C. TiC particles were formed under the high temperature caused by the cavitation effect, and they detached from the interface due to the sound pressure, which resulted in consistently sufficient contact on the wetting interface. Moreover, the wetting and spreading behaviour of the Al melt on graphite under an ultrasonic field were numerically simulated, strongly manifesting that the ultrasonic field could facilitate the wetting of the Al-C interface.