Investigation of Melting Materials from an Innovated Mini -Melting Foundry Furnace

Melting materials, furnace, water, oil, plastic, aluminium, bronze

Authors

  • Raymundo V. Romero Partido State University, San Juan Bautista St, Goa, Camarines Sur, Philippines
April 17, 2026
April 18, 2026

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At first, this study built a set-up and investigated the functionality of mini melting foundry furnace utilizing oil and water as fuel. This described the relationship between the weight and the time of melting of materials using used lubricant oil and water; and establish the typical melting time for different materials using water as the source of fuel. The functionality of the set up was investigated and was then quantified with known amount water and oil. This study found that the flame burning inside the furnace did not function well if the ratio between the speed of the droplet of oil against the speed of the droplet of water (do/dw) is equal or lesser to 2. It was also found to function with sustainability if do/dw varies from more than 2 to 20. However, with do/dw at above 20 is already dangerous for the furnace to continue the burning operation since the height of the burning flame could reach the extreme level. In contrast with bronze and aluminium plastic materials and lead melted using used lubricant oil as fuel. The reason could be attributed that plastic and lead materials have lower melting temperature compared to aluminium and bronze. When used lubricant oil was incorporated with water droplets, only the plastic materials were melted. The plastic materials generally have lower melting points compared to metals like lead, bronze, and aluminium. When the heat from the oil was combined with any generated friction, the melting point of the plastic is sufficient to be reached and surpassed causing it to melt. Oppositely, the thermal conductivity of metals like lead, bronze, and aluminium are higher compared to plastics which means they can dissipate heat more efficiently helping them to resist melting when exposed to heat sources like used lubricant oil. Plastic materials are susceptible to melting under certain conditions due to its chemical composition so that when the materials are exposed to heat, the polymer can break down leading to softening and eventually melting. It was established that the plastic material melts faster in used lubricant oil compared to when it was incorporated with water droplets.