Infiltration of molten manganese into pores and the wetting was examined using porous zirconia and MnAl2O4 spinel ceramic. Although these ceramic with flat and dense surface got wet by molten manganese, the infiltration of manganese into pores in porous ceramics was insufficient. Manganese infiltrated into small simple pores of about a few μm in diameter, but did not infiltrate into the large pores of about 10μm and the pores connected those self complicatedly. The contact angle of molten manganese decreased with increasing holding time and became constant on the surface of both porous and dense ceramic. In addition, the contact angle on the surface of porous ceramic was apparently larger than on the smooth surface of dense ceramic. These results were explained on the basis of interfacial free energy.

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