Professional Documents
Culture Documents
4(A) – Engineering Materiaals and Proceessing
MBE2034
Time Allo
owed: 1 hour Daate: 29th Nov 2013
Answer ALL Questioons
Questtion 1 (30 maarks)
Describe, w with the aid o
of sketches, tthe configura tion featuress and operatio onal principlees
of (i) vacuum casting process and d (ii) pressuure casting p
process. Conttrast on theeir
differences and similariities.
(3
30 marks)
Guide to ssolution:
You need tto sketch the following ske
etches wheneever possible
(a) Vaacuum castingg (b
b) Pressure casting
Figure 1 Confi
F iguration feattures of vacuuum/pressure casting proceesses
(i) Vaacuum castingg process
Coonfiguration ffeatures: ‐ Ass shown in Fiigure 1(a), the configuration features o of
the process consist of an in
nduction furnnace embedd ded with induuction heaters
surrounding itss wall for meltting and keepping the temp perature of the melt, a paair
of mold with casting
c in the
e parting pla nes with gatting which allows the meelt
fillling, an mold holding fixture with holloow stem connecting to vaccuum pump (aas
shown in the LH HS sketch in FFigure 1(a).
Op perational prrinciples: ‐ Wh hen the pair oof mold is mo ounted propeerly and tightly
intto the mountting stem sysstem, the systtem is then lowered down to touch th he
surface of the molten mettal in the fuurnace with induction heeaters on. Th he
vacuum pump is then on to o pump out gas/air from the mountin ng system annd
mo old cavity to create pressure differencce between aatmosphere aand the cavity.
Th essure in atmosphere pressses molten metal filling into cavity (aas
he higher pre
shown in RHS ssketch in Figu ure 1(a)). Liftting up the mmounting systtem with mold
to cool melt in
n cavity until complete ssolidification occurs. Discconnecting th he
vacuum stem frrom pump an nd dropping ddown the mo ld readily for mold retrieval.
(ii) Pressure casting process
Coonfiguration ffeatures: ‐ Ass shown in Figgure 1(b), a pair of mold iss mounted intto
the holding fraame which is placed ontoo the resting platform on the top of aan
ouuter container. Inside the ccontainer, theere is a ladle which is for containing th he
me elt and has heeater embedd ded in its walll to keep thee molten metaal in its molteen
staage. In the o
outer containe er, there are inletting tubees for pumping pressurizeed
airr into the spaace surroundiing the ladle.. There is a tu ube connecteed to the mold
cavity under the mold. This ttube is insertting into the m molten metal in the ladle.
Opperational prrinciples: ‐ Wh hen the moldd holding systtem is mounted with pair o of
mo old and clamped properly to prevent leeaking of pressurized air, p pressurized aair
is thus pumpe ed through the
t “air presssure in” tubes on the side of outeer
coontainer. The pumped in aair increases the pressuree surroundingg the ladle an nd
puushes the mo hrough the i nserting tubee to the mold cavity. Afteer
olten metal th
the complete solidification o of the moltenn metal in thee mold, the caasting can theen
bee removed ou ut from the mold.
Difference
es:
Similarity::
work on presssure differencce between thhe surrounding of the molten metal an
1) Both w nd
the mo
old cavity which is supposeed to be low pressure con
ndition.
Questtion 2 (30 maarks)
Describe, w with the aid o
of sketches, tthe configura tion featuress and operatio onal principlees
of semi‐clo osed die forgging. One of ddeficiencies oof semi‐closed die forgingg is its possible
formation of flash whicch may be verry costly to m machine off inn large quantiity production n.
Advise and d describe a technique wh hich a manuffacturing enggineer may bee used to takke
off such flaash rapidly.
(330 marks)
Guide to ssolution:
Figure 2 Con
nfiguration of semi‐closed die forging during operations
Semi‐Close
ed Die Forgin
ng
Note: Alte
ernatively, the semi‐closed d die forgingg process can
n also be illusstrated by th
he
following FFigure (whichh only shows a quarter plaane of the seemi‐closed diee forging – th he
o
complete mold pair iss its plane rotated
r 360 about its ccentral line) with relevan nt
description
n about it. Thhe operationaal principles ccan be similarr to the abovee after suitably
modificatioon so that it ccan relate directly to the illlustration of Figure 3
(b) Configuration at the completion o
of
(a) Co
onfiguration aat starting of forging forgingg
Figure 3 Conffiguration of semi‐closed ddie forging (A
Another exam
mple)
Technique
e to Take off FFlash from th
he Semi‐Closeed Die Forgin
ng
The techniique can be as illustrated iin Figure 4 annd described b
below.
Configurattion featuress: ‐ Ref to Figgure 4 beloww, the sketch at LHS to th
he central lin
ne
representss the configuration featurres of a proceess for takingg off the flash h produced b by
semi‐close ed die forgingg. It consists of (as shownn in the LHS o of central linee, indicated b by
labelling “Before”):
“ (i) a top punch h with its boottom section having geo ometry as th he
reverse geeometry of top
t part of the
t forging ggoing to be flashed off; (ii) a bottom m
trimming d die with a do ownwardly tapered hole inn the middle and diameter (or shape) aat
its top equual to inner diameter (or sshape) of the flash; and (iii) a stationary punch at th he
bottom (w which moves d downwardly tto synchronizzing the moveement of the top punch) sso
as to hold and prevent the droppingg of the forginng .
Figure 4 Co
onfiguration ffeatures of th
he process fo r flashing off before and aafter operatio
on
Operation nal principles:: ‐ Lay to align the forgingg on the top o
of the trimmin ng die, and
then the toop punch on the forging (aas shown in LLHS to Centraal line, indicatted by “Beforre”
in Figure 4
4). Progressiveely compress the top puncch and move the stationarry punch dow wn
simultaneo ously. The flash on the forging will be trrimmed off b by the top edgge of the
middle hole of trimming die as show wn in the RHS to Central lin
ne as indicateed by “After”
in Figure 4
4).
Questtion 3 (30 maarks)
Figure 1
1 A process inn operation
Guide to SSolution:
Anticipatioon: ‐ The process is likely tto be impact extrusion. Th his is becausee the die cavitty
is very shaallow, the tubbe produced iis deeper thaan the die cavvity, and the extruded tub be
is attachedd to the outer body of the e punch and llifted up with h punch readiily stripped o off
with the sttrippers.
Elucidation: ‐ The flat bottom surfface of the ppunch and itss larger surfaace area imply
requiring larger forge to o initiate plasstic deformattion of materiial directly un nder the puncch.
It also me
eans relatively more difficcult for the m
material squeeezed to sprread along thhe
punch surfface to its rimm filling in the
e clearance beetween innerr diameter off die cavity an nd
outer diam meter of the punch body. The change of flow direcction of mateerial flow from m
the clearan nce upwardlyy along the pu unch body maay result in breaking of the sharp corneer
of the pun nch. Furtherm more, the dire ect contact off upward flow w material alo ong the puncch
body means the enhan ncement of friction
f whenn the materiaal flowing upw wardly furtheer
during extrusion.
MBE2034 Engineering Materials and Processing
Test
23 April, 2015
(Totally 4 Questions – Answer all the questions)
1) In sand casting, adequate use of risers in the pair of casting molds improves the quality of the
casting.
i. Specify the roles of riser in casting (8 marks)
Guide to solution:
The roles or functions of riser in sand casting are:
a) Entrapping excess liquid material so as to ensure complete filling of the die cavity
for the production of casting
b) Entrapping air/gas originally in the pouring and sprue system, in the runner and
gating system, and in the die cavity so as to prevent the forming of defects like blow,
scar or blister due to air/gas bubbles trapping between the interface of inner mold
surface and outer casing of the casting
c) Modifying temperature distribution in mold so as to control solidification of liquid
metal in die cavity and to promote directional solidification
d) Supplying liquid metal to fill shrinkage cavity formed by the contraction of finally
frozen liquid metal in the bulk section of a casting
ii. Sketch a pair of casting molds with risers situating around a casting so that the risers can
performed those roles as specified in (i) above (20 marks)
Guide to solution:
Both Sketch 1 or Sketch 2 below are examples of possible pair of sand casting molds
with riser situating by the casting which performs roles as specified in (i) above. Basically,
the riser is situated in the other side of the casting in relation to the pour and sprue
system and the runner and gating system. It thus allows air/gas originally in the two
systems and casting cavity to be driven to the riser. The riser allows excessive liquid
metal to fill in so as to ensure the complete filling of the casting cavity. Also, the
excessive liquid metal tends to give out heat to heat up the vicinity mold material and
delay the early or immature solidification of liquid metal in the cavity far away from the
pouring and gating systems. This can effectively control the solidification phenomenon
and give directional solidification. Furthermore, the excessive liquid metal in riser acts as
reservoir to replenish the shortage of material in bulk region closer to the riser. This
effectively suppresses the formation of shrinkage cavity in the region. (You can sketch
either one for the correct answer)
Sketch 1
Sketch 2
(Descrriptions below w serve as reference only,, not as part of the solutio on of the queestion:
If one refers to the setup of a paair of casting mold as sketcched below, tthe riser is loccated
betweeen the pourin ng and sprue system and tthe casting caavity. Under ssuch condition, the
air/gass originally occcupying the ccasting cavityy may be unable to reflow to the riser; also
the narrow sections in the castin ng tend to so lidify much earlier than liq quid metal in the
boss. A e liquid meta l from the risser and the po
As a result, it blocks off the ouring and spprue
system
m for replenishing the extra space left ddue to contract of the finally solidified liquid
metal in the boss. H Hence role (ivv) is also not pperformed. In
n addition, it ggives incorrecct
tempe erature distribbution in conttrolling the diirectional solidification.)
iiii. Figure 1 shows two o examples off sand cores sshowing core prints and ch haplets to sup
pport
cores, in which the green region
n represents tthe cavity of tthe casting. Explain why th
he
cores aare clamped between the two mold haalves and in th he parting lines of the mollds
and alsso elaborate the purpose of chaplets. (10 marks)
Figure
e 1 Two examples of core m
mounting in ssand casting m
mold.
Guide to soluttion:
The co ore with core prints to be cclamped betwween parting line of the tw
wo mold halvees is
mainlyy to provide rigidity of the core and to m
minimize the possible deflection of thee core.
Hence, the hole in tthe casting caan remain str aight and thee core can eassily be removved
after ccasting. Furthermore, the cclamping andd orientation of casting in tthe mold
facilitaates the castin
ng to be remooved from th e mold.
ivv. Figure 2 shows the arrangementt of a pair of ccasting moldss. Anticipate tthe possible
ems likely to b
proble be associated
d with the locaating of the ccore as illustraated.
(8 marks)
Figure 2 Desig
F gn arrangemeent of a castin
ng in its mold
Guide to soluttion:
As see
en from the co onfiguration oof the setup, the core is in
nserted into the bottom haalf
mold aand it experieences constraint to freely rremove easilyy. Also the casting cavity iss
placed
d on top of the core; the prressure of thee filled liquid metal into th he cavity tend ds to
apply aa resultant fo ore. It may th us sink the co
orce on the co ore down into o the sand mo old.
Furthe
ermore, the fiilling jet may apply a forcee to shift the ccore sideway during fillingg.
Hence, the position n of core mayy not be correect for each caast if the pairr of molds is
preserrved for a nummber of succeessive castinggs. In additionn, such setup is not easy fo or
removving the castinng from the mmold quickly aand thus redu uces the prod duction rate.
2) In ducts to be produced. Skeetch
ncorrect desiggn and processsing may eassily result in ddefective prod
an
nd describe the features aand causing m
mechanisms oof ANY TWO o of the followings. Suggest how
one can minim mize the occurrrence of the defects, whicch you have m
mentioned, b
by suitably
reedesigning orr modifying thhe process.
i. A defe
ect likely to occcur in castingg (9 marks)
ii.. A defe
ect likely to occcur in forgingg (9 marks)
iiii. A defe
ect likely to occcur in flat rolling (9 marks)
ivv. A defe
ect likely to occcur in extrussion (9 marks)
Guide to soluttion:
wo kinds of deefects in forging (although there are maany
For (ii)): We mainly dealt with tw
more) in Slide 41 off Lecture Notes “MetalCassting&ForginggP”, and theirr relevant
descrip ption can be ffound in Page
es 16 – 17 of descriptive n
notes
“Castin ng&ForgingPrro(Descriptivee)” under “Deefects”. As mentioned in tthe paragraph h
above,, understandiing their features, causingg mechanismss and how to alleviate theiir
occurrrence is important.
For (iii): We have de
ealt 4 types o
of rolling defeects; see Slidee 9 in the lecture notes
ng&Extrusion‐‐DrawingP(M
“Rollin MBE)”. They arre individuallyy described in n Pages 5 and d 6
under “Defects in RRolled Plates aand Sheets” i n the descrip ptive notes “R Rolling&Extrusion‐
Drawin ngProess”. Fuurthermore, rroll bending aand deflection n (see: Page 33 in descriptivve
notes “Rolling&Extrrusion‐drawin ng process” aand Slide 5 in lecture notess
“Rollin
ng&Extrusion‐‐drawingP(MBE)”) are connsidered the ccauses of som me defects. Yo ou
need tto understand d each well.
For (ivv): The major defects are fe
eatured in Sli de 28 in the llecture notes
“Rollinng&Extrusion‐‐DrawingP(M MBE)”. They arre individuallyy described inn Page 14 und
der
“Chevrron Craking” in the descrip ptive notes “R
Rolling&Extru usion‐DrawinggProess”. Youu
need tto understand d each well.
3) Fiigure 3 showss a bar product with a constant cross‐seectional geommetry through hout its entiree
le
ength. Describbe with the aiid of sketchess wherever neecessary the setup featurees and operattional
principles of a process whicch can be used to produceed it under a mmass producttion situation.
(20 marks)
Figure 3 A b
bar product w
with a constannt cross‐sectioonal geometrry over its len
ngth througho out
Guide to soluttion:
The baar may be pro
oduced by dirrect extrusionn process with h die having o
opening of the
shape of the bar cro
oss‐section. TThe setup feaatures of the d
direction extrrusion processs are
as skettched below.
The se
etup features and operatio ng (refer to Pages
onal principless are describeed as followin
10 andd 11 in descrip
ptive notes “R
Rolling & Extrrusion‐drawinng process”, iit is encouragged to
use yo
our own word ds to describe all these – W
We encouragee students to understand
lecture
e materials raather than meemorizing woordings and phrases).
1) Billlet is the work kpiece/rod/blaank/tube/part to be extrudeed so that its ooriginal shapee can
be formed
f to thee anticipated geometry
g of thhe accomplisshed componeent.
2) Con ntainer which mainly contaains the workp kpiece/rod/parrt to be extrudded out througgh the
die fastened in front
fr of the co
ontainer outlett.
3) Con ntainer liner which
w is sandw
wiched betweeen the inner surface of container and thhe
outer surface of the workpiece. Its main fuunction is to pprevent the poossible wear oof the
inner wall of con ntainer and to maintenance/reeplacement coost – Generally,
o reduce its m
the interfacial ru ubbing betweeen the containner inner walll and the workkpiece outer
surfface only occcurs on the inn ner wall of linner which cann be changed cheaply and eeasily
in comparison
c of changing th he container coompletely.
4) Die backer which h is mounted and captures rigidly the diie to the frontt face of the
conntainer so as itt can absorb thet squeezingg force from th the pressing sttem in perforrming
neccessary deform mation of the billet throughh the die
5) Presssing stem wh hich is pushed d against the bbillet so that it can move fforwardly throough
the die at where billet is deforrmed to form m the shape reqquired. The sqqueezing forcce is
usuually the sum of deformatio on force and tthe force requuired to overccome interfaciial
fricction between n the liner inneer wall and thhe outer surfaace of the billeet
6) Dum mmy block which
w is usuallly sandwichedd between billlet and pressiing stem so aas to
avooid the indentaation and/or damage
d onto the pressing sstem. As the rreplacement ccost
t dummy bllock is easier and cheaper, it reduces maaintenance coost.
of the
be, with the aid of sketcches wherev er necessaryy, the mechaanisms of forming
1) Briefly describ
microporositie
m es. Why doess porosity havve detrimenttal effects on
n the mechan
nical propertties of
caastings? Whicch physical prroperties are also affectedd adversely byy porosity (Givve reasons w why)?
(26 marks))
Guides to solutio
ons
Ref to the insert showiing dendrites in the bottoom of Figure 22 and the diaagram below,, each
dendrite te ends to grow both around d both sidewaays and towarrds the core o of die cavity dduring
solidification. The growwth of side branch
b of eaach dendrite leads to tou
uching/fusingg with
counterparts from its neighboring dendrite (Diiagram 1), w which isolatess those remaaining
liquid mettal entrapped d with the trrough of thee fusing bran
nch pair from
m the liquid metal
outside the freezing ran nge. Contracttion of individdually entrapped liquid meetal in such branch
troughs thhus results in
i the formaation of miccroporosity. In addition, the evolutio on of
dissolved gas/air in liq
quid metal caannot successsfully escapee from the rregions within the
blocking surrounding
s also creatingg micro‐gas/aair holes. Thhe formation n of such random
distributio
on of shrunk microporosities and microo‐gas/air holees is the majjor mechanisms of
forming m microporosities.
etch 1
Ske
The existe
ence of thesee microporosiites discontinnues the widtth and thickn ness directionn of a
solidified material. Hen nce, its effecctive cross‐seectional area to resist an applied load d P is
smaller thaan its nominaal counterpart. Hence, its nnet applied sttress across tthe cross‐secttion is
higher thaan its nominaal value – thiss leads to itss early reachiing of fracturre value when P is
increasing.
Physically, the thermal and electriccity conductiivity, respecttively, is largely related tto the
ability of aa material to perform the activity of el ectron flow. The existence of micropo orosity
tends to create the e amount of o vacanciess which discontinue ssuch flow u unless
sufficient/critical potenntial is applied
d to create eleectronic jump p internally.
2) Fiigure 1 showss 3 designs fo
or a die casting. Note the cchanges madee to original d
die design (1),, and
co
omment on the reasons fo or these changes by compaaring the corrresponding die designs in (1),
(2
2) and (3)
(18 marks))
Figure 1 Three designns of a die cassting
Guides to solu
utions
Sketch 2
For the parts shown in Figure 1
The paart shown in Figure 1(1) and Sketch 22(1): The currvature in ho ole B (Sketch 2(1))
requires a
a male core with
w same profile to be produced, w which is costlyy to producee. The
depth l off the middle small hole may
m be too ddeep, which m may be bentt during fillingg and
subsequen ntly hard to rretrieve out in the castingg. The accum mulation of material in A rregion
(Sketch 2((1)) is suscepptible to form
m shrinkage cavity and jeeopardizes th he casting qu uality.
External innterfacial corn ners are too ssharp which ddo not assist the flow of liquid metal d during
casting annd may mech hanically leadd to stress cooncentration. Furthermorre, its partingg line
position means
m the co
ore‐print for hole B needss to insert in
nto bottom mmold plate tiightly,
which creaates difficultyy for mold rem moval after caasting.
The paart shown in FFigure 1(2) an nd Sketch 2(22): Comparingg with that shown in Sketch 2(1),
the material accumulattion region A is corrected with almost uniform wall so as to sup ppress
the defectt of shrinkage
e cavity, and the original rigidity in th
he part shown in Sketch 2 2(1) is
achieved b by the introduction of side ribs as shoown in Sketch h 2(2). The cu urving top heead of
the holloww middle zonne Sketch 2(11) is simplifieed with almo ost straight wwall so as to make
cheaper production off its core. Butt the core leeg for castingg small middle hole with same
depth l (cf. Sketches 2(1)
2 and 2(2))) may still bbe bent durin ng filling and
d hard to remmove.
Corners arre with smalll fillet. The lo
ocation of paarting line in Sketch 2(2) allows tightly and
rigidly clam
mping betwee en two halvess of mold as ccompared witth that in Skeetch 2(1).
Guided solutio
ons
(a) (b) (cc) (d)
Sketch 3
3 Blocked forrging in die to o illustrate thee formation o of laps in finisshed forging
or (i) Laps in FFinished Forgging – As illusttrated in Skettch 3(d), the ffeatures of laps in finished
Fo d
fo
orging are bassically consistting of numbe er of folding l ines in the m
middle of a finished forgingg.
When a blocke
W ed forging witth bulks of maaterial accum mulated at either end whicch is linked wiith
th
hin web is plaaced in die pair (Sketch 3(b b)), pressing tto close the die halves resu ults in the flow
wing
down of materrials from eacch bulk and th he streaming into two streeams: (i) one to flow inwarrd to
th
he middle of tthin web, and d (ii) the othe
er one to floww out to partin ng line plane. As the thin wweb
which has low
w flexural rigidity cannot sustain the com mpressive forcces by the inw ward stream form
eiither sides, it thus bends to fold within the mid‐secttion. Further cclosing the diie halves
su
ubsequently lleads to the ggeneration of laps since th e material is not in molten n state and caannot
diffuse to eliminate the fold ding lines.
Foor (ii) Cracks propagating tthrough ribs –– Its features are illustrateed in Sketch 4
4(d), which
basically consists of cracks aat the junctioon between m middle web an nd inner cornner of the ribss. As
illlustrated in Sketch 4, a blaank with volume much largger than the ccavity of the d die after closing is
placed in the d die (Sketch 4(a)). Closing th
he die leads tto the early filling of the veertical sub‐cavities
in
n the cavity (SSketch 4(b)). M he middle webb, during furtther closing, is asserted wiith
Material in th
laarge compressive force to move outwarrdly to either side, which ssubsequentlyy applies largeer
sqqueezing forcce to move ne eighboring maaterial to the rim. Similarlyy, the immatu ure filling of tthose
veertical sub‐caavities, when is under compression, tennds to move m material down nwardly with
reelatively smalller force (maaterial in vertiical sub‐cavityy is lesser thaan material frrom middle
(SSketch 4(b))) –– this force att the inner co
orner of ribs ttends to be fo orced to movee outwards to o the
rim by the largge force from the middle w web (Sketch 44(c)). The incaapability of fu using togetherr of
twwo streams of materials th hus creates crracks propagaating through h ribs as show
wn in Sketch 4 4(d).
Sketch 4 Blank in die p
pair and the fformation of cracks at ribss
4) Describe with the aid of ske
etches wherever necessaryy the configuration features and
operational principles of an
n impact extru
usion processs which you h have learnt. Comment on tthe
dvantages an
ad nd limitations of the design
n features of iits tools.
(24 marks))
Guides to Solutions: (You caan sketch andd describe thee setup in eith
her Sketch 5((a) or Sketch 55(b).
Note: The guid des to solutions here descrribed both Skketch 5(a) and
d Sketch (b). If you select
Skketch 5(a), those relevant descriptions for Sketch 5( b) can be rem
moved and vicce versa)
Sketcch 5 Configurration feature mpact extrusion processess
es and operattional proced ures of two im
Description:
D Normally
N extrrusion is worrking on the principles o of continuoussly squeezingg of a
workpiece
w whhich deformss to take thee geometry of die open ning for the products. Im mpact
exxtrusion take
es the advantaage of converting potentiaal energy of aa punch to kinetic energy,, then
to
o deformation energy. Ske etch 5 showss the featurees and operattional princip ples of two im
mpact
exxtrusion proccesses. Basicaally, either pro
ocess has a s hallow die to o be placed w with blank. A p punch
(w
which either shaped as sh
hown in Sketcch 5(a) or sppecifically shaaped as show
wn in Sketch (b)) is
raaised up to ce
ertain height to acquire its potential ennergy, which is released aand dropped down
to
o hit on the b
blank. Under tthe impact, th
he blank is deeforming and d material is m
moving backwwardly
up along the oouter wall of tthe punch taking the shappe of the outeer bottom profile of the ppunch.
Th
he stripper pllate is then m
moving down tto strip off thhe extrusion d
down from th he punch.
5) Th
he diameter o of a medium size ring is still too small t o meet the reequired speciification with ring
wall is too wid
w e. Describe w
with the aid off sketches whherever necesssary the setu up features and
operational principles to en
nlarging its diaameter and t o narrow its w width.
(16 marks))
Guides to solutions
Skketch 6 Configuration feattures of ring rrolling
(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 1 Three basic types of cast structures
Identify the individual types of cooling and their corresponding type of cast grain structures likely to
form. Differentiate and describe the types and causing mechanisms of micro‐segregation likely to be
found in a casting in general by referring to Fig. 1. Specify the type(s) of microsegregation likely to be
involved and how they are likely formed in the respective cooling phenomenon as shown in Figs 1(a),
1(b), and 1(c). Briefly mention the effect of these microsegregations on the mechanical properties of the
relevant casting.
Guides to solutions (ref to descriptive notes “Casting‐Fundamentals(MBE)” , sub‐section “Effect of
Cooling Rate”, Page 4 , and sub‐section “Type of casting structure and cooling rate”, Pages 4 and 5, and
Page 12 in lecture notes “FunCastingP(MBE)”; in addition, recalling for what were mentioned in class in
relation to Fig. 10.5 (or Fig. 1 above)) – You are encouraged to answer the questions with your own
words.
Type of cooling: The grains structure in Fig. 1(a) is directionally growing from mold inner wall (or
solidified solid plane) continuously towards core center and outwards sideway to form almost uniform,
large columnar dendrites, which suggest being under slow cooling rate. The gain structure in Fig. 1(b)
illustrates the formation of randomly distributed and relatively small dendritic grains close to, but
detaching from, the solidified solid front – these dendrites tend to rapidly touch with neighbouring
counterparts to form smaller, non‐directional and/or equiaxed dendritic grains. Hence, the cooling is
categorized as fast cooling rate. The nucleated grains in Fig. 1(c) are very small and irregular, and
relatively densely and widely distributed in the liquid metal at the vicinity of solidified solid front. The
growth and touching of these neighboring grains result in homogeneous (isotropic) or equiaxed non‐
dendritic grain structure, implying it is under very fast cooling rate.
Type and formation of segregations: Segregation always occurs when a casting involves with more than
one metal (i.e. alloy). Basic segregation can be categorized into: (i) macro‐segregation, which is
differential distribution of metal elements in a casting as a whole – it is usually consisted with more high
melting point metal elements gathering in outer casing and gradually reducing towards inner core; (ii)
gravity segregation, normally with heavier metal elements gathering at the bottom of a casting; and (iii)
micro‐segregation which is usually in grain structure level – generally this type of segregation can be
further classified into (a) normal micro‐segregation, and (b) inverse micro‐segregation.
Micro‐segregation formation: Normally, an element at certain location is seeded to nucleate for
forming grain when the element is cooled to its melting point. Its further cooling allows more and more
elements (some with lower melting point) to solidify and enlarge the grain structure. Hence, the grain so
formed will be rich in high melting point elements at the centre (Fig. 1(a)‐A) of a dendrite bottom (Label
1 in Fig. 1(a)‐A) or at the core (Fig. 1(b)‐A) of a dendrite (Label 1 in Fig. 1(b)‐A) with their concentration
reducing from 1 to the tip (Label 2 in Fig. 1(a)‐A) or to the outer surrounding (Label 2 in Fig. 1(b)‐A) of a
dendrite and to the tip (Label 3 in Fig. 1(a)‐A or in Fig. 1(b)‐A) of the dendrite branches. The distribution
of elements in such way is termed “Normal Micro‐segregation”. In For the case of very cooling rate (Fig.
1(c)), the four very close seeds to nucleate solidification (1,2,3,4 in Fig 1(c)‐A) are high melting point
elements. Their spread of solidification to their surrounding towards the position of 5 in Fig. 1(c)‐A and
finally touching each others at 5 (forming a single grain) tends to have more high melting point elements
scattering in the outside region (I,e, 12341) which their concentration reduces towards center 5 in Fig.
1(c)‐A. The micro‐segregation in such way is termed “Inverse Micro‐Segregation”
(a)‐A (b)‐A (c)‐A
Fig. 2‐A Illustration of forming segregation
Effect on mechanical properties: Segregation occurs in casting creating inhomogeneous element
distribution and subsequently affects the servicing condition of a casting. Typically, a component with
macro‐segregation may be hard in casing, which is reducing towards the core. However, its toughness
increases from casing towards the central core. The gravity segregation results in differential
sustainability of the component to externally applied force, and hence limiting its service‐ability.
Mechanically, the existence of micro‐segregation (either normal or inverse type) may lead to the
generation of locally internal cracking under bulk deformation loading.
Question 2 (29 marks)
Fig. 2 illustrates the schematic of generating Chevron cracking or central burst in forward extrusion
process. Elucidate, with adequate sketches if necessary, the condition and mechanisms causing it.
Specify and briefly explain, with sketch illustrations, the other conditions under which such central burst
may hardly take place.
Fig. 2 Schematic illustration of the occurrence of central burst in forward extrusion process
Guides to Solutions:
As shown in Fig. 2, the originally horizontal material flow hits at die wall on die angle will be blocked by
die material and thus change direction to flow along die angle. All flows in sub‐layers tend to follow the
same pattern as the line labeled with Vo. If an envelop is drawn to the boundary of changing flow
direction, it gives a region which is shaded with grey color at the vicinities on the top and on the bottom.
These two regions moving down and up to squeeze materials in between to create an outward flow out
from the opening and an inward flow toward its back, which means creating tensile stresses to pull apart
those material in region A (Fig. 2(a)). Such tensile stress when reaching the fracture stress of material
inclines to yield crack in the region which is in certain critical size. However, such fracture will not occur
if sufficient materials are found in the region to resist the tensile stress. This takes place if the die angle
is relatively small (Fig. 2(b)) or the percentage of reduction is small (Fig. 2(c)). Alternatively, if the die
angle is larger than the critical value (Fig. 2(d)) or the percentage of reduction is also large than the
critial value (Fig. 2(e)), the two grey rigid bodies have tips almost overlapping and to be pushed out from
the opening without the formation of any cracking.
(a) Critical die angle (b) Smaller die angle (c) Smaller percentage of
and percentage of reduction
reduction
(d) Die angle larger than critical angle (e) Percentage of reduction larger than critical
reduction
Figure 2 Illustration of (a) critical condition to create central burst, (b) and (c) conditions of not create
central bust with smaller die angle and percentage of reduction, and (d) and (e) conditions of not
creating central bust with larger die angle and percentage of reduction
Question 3 (18 marks)
Describe with the aid of sketches the features and causing mechanisms of any TWO defects which you
have learnt in the following three sub‐questions.
i. a defect likely occurs in forging processes
ii. a defect likely occurs in rolling processes
iii. a defect likely occurs in casting
Guides to solutions: (You are encouraged to use your own language to describe the answers)
For (i) – Please refer to Slide 41 on class notes “MetalCasting&ForgingP.pdf” , and section “Defects in
Forged Parts” on Pages 16‐17 in descriptive notes “Casting&ForgingPro.Doc”. It is advisable to use your
own words to describe your answer. In sketch of setting or features, please give meaningful illustrations.
For (ii) – Please refer to Slide 9 on class notes “Rolling&Extrusion‐drawingP.pdf” and the section
“Defects in Rolled Plates and Sheets”, Pages 5 and 6, in descriptive notes “Rolling & Extrusion‐drawing
processes.doc”
For (iii) – Please refer to Figure 10.5 for generation of micro‐porosities on slide 12, also slide 19 for hot
tears, Slide 20, for casting defects, and and Slide 21 for shrinkage cavities in class notes
“FunCastingP(MBE).pdf”; and sections “Contraction of Casting Metal” (Page 7), “Defects” (Page 7 and
Page 8), “Standard nomenclature of casting defects” (Page 8), and “Porosities” (Page 9) in the
descriptive notes “Casting‐Fundamentals(MBE).doc”.
Question 4 (11 marks)
Answer either sub‐question (1) or sub‐question (2).
1) Describe with the aid of sketches the setup features and operational principles of a process to
remove flash of a forged component
2) Describe with the aid of sketches the setup features and operational principles of rolling balls for
ball bearing.
Guides to Solutions:
Figure 3 Schematic illustration of the setup features and operational principles of flash removal process
For (1) ‐
Guides to Solutions:
For (1) – The setup features, as illustrated in the sketch at the left hand side includes: (i) a punch with
the surface of bottom end to be profiled to match the top profile of the forging and having vertically
straight body; (ii) a die with downward tapering die hole having profile in shape of the anticipated
forging product; and (iii) a stationary punch which is placed in the middle of die hole to hold the
trimming forging in process.
A forging with surrounding flash is placed onto the die hole and its part originally filling up
bottom die cavity is inserted into the die hole. The punch on the top is then activated to touch the top
profile of the forging and then being gradually compressed down. Under such squeezing action, the
forging is moving down the die‐hole while the edge of die hole shears off the flash away. When the
forging moving down into the die hole, the stationery punch will hold the trimmed forging and prevent
its dropping off. The moving away of the top punch and the up moving of the stationery punch facilitate
the removal of the trimmed forging from the system.
For (2): (For this particular question, you can either describe the skew rolling process or the upsetting
process UNLESS IT DOES SPECIFICALLY SPECIFIED)
(a) (b)
(A) Skew Rolling Process (B) Upsetting Process
Figure 4 Processes for production of steel balls for ball bearing
For Skew Rolling Process – a pair of formed rollers with circular grooves progressively increasing in
depth are position in skew, as shown in Figure 4(A). Each roller is driven to synchronize rolling relatively
with the other during operation. When a long rod is inserted through the gap between the rollers, rod
material will be forged to fill the circular grooves and progressively deformed. It will be finally deformed
into ball as it comes out from the last groove on the rollers.
For upsetting process – A pair of die cup (blue color in Figure 4(B)) is inserted with a pair of die inserts
(red color in Figure 4(B)) having spherical cavity. Each half of die has hole in the middle of the vertical
wall which allows injector pin to go through. During operation, blank is firstly cut to size so that its
volume is that of the spherical cavity. The blank is placed in the cavity, followed by closing the two die
halves. The closing of die halves deform the blank to fill the spherical cavity. The ejector is then pushed
to release the ball from the cavity after the two die halves are completely opened.
MBE 2034 Engineering Materials and Processing
Test
Date: 13 April, 2017
Time allowable: 1 hour
Totally 5 Questions have been set
Answer ALL questions
1) A manufacturing engineer is given a batch of flat ring which has sufficient large diameter for
further enlarging the inner and outer diameters, thickening and narrowing the annular. Describe
with the aid of suitable sketches the setup features and operational principles of a rolling
process to achieve these. If the batch of ring are intended to be formed with shape as shown in
dark bisected wall in Figure 1. Mention how to modify the setup of the process you have
described for the achievement of the product.
(20 Marks)
Outer wall profile
Inner wall profile
Figure 1: The bisected wall of formed ring
Guides to solutions: (Reminding: It is important to have meaningful illustrative sketch(es) to
accompany your descriptive answers. It helps to understand what you are describing of.)
The enlargement of inner and outer diameters, and the thickening and narrowing of annular of
the rings can be achieved by ring rolling process with setup features as shown Figure A1 below.
Setup features: As illustrated in Figure A1, a main roll which is driven by a power source and
driving the workpiece, a ring, to be pressed against to by an idler roll through the inner diameter
of the ring. The idler roll is also pressing the ring against a rounding roll; both are located closer
to the main driven roll. Pair of edging rolls, individually with conical end, are located at the far
side from the main driven roll, idler roll, and rounding roll system.
Operational Principles: By volume constancy principle, enlarging of ring diameters accompany
with narrowing of annular width which, to certain extent, may thicken the annular. Pressing the
ring against the main driven roll by idler roll facilitates the driving the ring through the rolling
system and it also serves narrowing the width and thickening the annular of the ring to certain
extent. In additional, it enlarges the inner and outer diameters of the ring. Pressing the ring
against the rounding roll by the idler roll also serves such narrowing, thickening, and enlarging
functions. Suitably setting of the gap between the pair of edging rolls controls the achievable
annular thickness.
Figure A1: Configuration of a ring rolling process
Accomplishment of the rings with outer and inner profiles as shown in Figure 1: Generally, it is
possible to achieve the anticipated profiles on both outer surface and inner surface of an
enlarged, narrowed and thickened ring if replacement of (i) the idler roll with a roll formed with
inverse shape of the inner finished part (Figure 1) and (ii) the rounding roll with a roll formed
with inverse shape of the outer finished part (Figure 1). It is then followed by a series of suitable
rolling to accomplish the final profile.
2) Describe with the aid of sketches the set up features and operational principles of (a)
hydrostatic extrusion process and (b) Lateral extrusion process. Compare their individual
advantages and limitations.
(30 marks)
Guides to solutions:
With reference to Figure A2 and Figure A3, the corresponding setup features and operational
principles are described as below.
Hydrostatic Extrusion Process –
Setup features: ‐ A die with opening taking the shape of an anticipated extrusion is suitably
mounted to the front of a container without any liner by a die backer plate. Sealing is properly
implemented between the outer rim of die and the inner surface of container so as to prevent
any possible leaking of fluid from the container during extrusion. A workpiece with outer
dimensions smaller than the cross‐sectional area of the inner chamber of container is placed
through the die hole. The workpiece is then surrounded with fluid which is prevented to leak out
from the back of chamber by seals between the outer rim of pushing block and inner surface of
chamber. The pushing block is pushed forward by a pressing stem from a hydraulic cylinder at
the rear of the complete extrusion setup, as shown in Figure A2(a).
Operational Principles: ‐ One end of the workpiece is pre‐machined to the shape of opening of
the die so that it can be put through the die properly. The mounting of the extrusion system is
then set with the filling of fluid into the inner chamber of container, with seals in proper places
to prevent any leaking of fluid from the chamber. The pushing of pushing block by pressing stem
reduces the available space and increases the internal pressure in the chamber. Such pressure
increase deforms the workpiece in the chamber to certain extent, and also pushes the
workpiece through the die open if the pressure in chamber is sufficiently high. The pushing of
workpiece through the die open may be accompanied by some fluid flowing through the
interface between die hole wall and workpiece, which serves as lubricant in reducing friction
and improving surface finishing of an extrusion.
Lateral Extrusion Process: ‐
Setup features: ‐ A vertical chamber/container which has an opening at its bottom side wall for
mounting a die by a tightly fastened die backer/holder. The bottom of the container is made
with an inclination wall with lowest side next the die opening so as to facilitate the flowing of
material when a workpiece is placed into and extruded in the container. The configuration of
lateral extrusion equipment system, as shown in Figure A2(b) also consists of larger block on the
top of workpiece, which is pushed downwardly by a punch. The punch is pushing down by a
hydraulic powering system.
Operational Principles: ‐ After setting up the lateral extrusion as shown in Figure A2(b), a
hydraulic system is thus activated to power the punch pushing downwards.. Such pushing force
is transmitted via the larger block on top of the workpiece to the workpiece which is
subsequently compressed and squeezing the materials at the bottom of container out from the
die mounted at the bottom of lateral wall, as illustrated in Figure A2(b).
(a) Setup of hydrostatic extrusion process (b) Setup of lateral extrusion process
Figure A2: The configuration of hydrostatic and lateral extrusion orocesses
Comparison of their corresponding advantages and limitations: ‐ The advantages and
limitations of the individual extrusion processes are briefed as below.
Hydrostatic extrusion process has advantages of (1) almost eliminating completely the
interfacial friction since the contractual area between workpiece and container wall is nearly
alleviated; (2) the increasing in pressure of fluid surrounding the workpiece tends to deform
uniformly over the workpiece prior to being extruded out, thus lowering the extrusion force
required to achieve the anticipated deformation; and (3) some fluid tends to flow along the
interface between the surface of die opening and the outer surface o workpiece, which serves
as lubricant to lubricate the operation and reduce friction further. The limitations of the process
are: (a) the setup is relatively complicated and thus more expensive; (b) fluid though the
workpiece and die interface tends to wet the floor of workshop, its slippery may create safety
hazard to operators; and (c) the size and length of the extrusion from the process are limited to
certain extent.
Lateral extrusion process has the advantages of: (1) its vertically setting up of container and the
outlet of extrusion from the bottom of the lateral wall of container effectively save the space
required; and (2) the setup of system is relatively simple and thus costs relatively cheaper; etc.
Limitations of the process include; (a) size and length of its extrusion are limited; (b) extrusion so
produced is relatively simple; and (c) friction between workpiece and container inner wall
remains and the change of materials from vertical direction to lateral involves certain amount of
redundant energy in changing the flow direction; etc.
3) Describe with the aid of suitable sketches how micro‐porosities can be formed in metal casting
under naturally slow cooling condition. Discuss how the micro‐porosities in a casting affect its
mechanical and thermal properties. Propose the types segregation likely to take place or involve
with in such casting. Give reasons why.
(20 marks)
Guides to solutions:
How microporosities to be formed within casting: ‐ Under slow and natural cooling condition,
the grain is normally coarse, and in dendritic form, as shown in Figure A3. Since the
cooling is slow and natural, temperature difference occurs within mold wall and melt in
the mold cavity. Generally, solidification of melt starts from inner mold wall at some
preferential locations where temperatures are lower than elsewhere, and the first
solidified element is that with relatively higher freezing temperature. In the
solidification, those melts around the solidified elements pass heat via solid location and
disperse the heat through the mold wall. The heat loss of these melts allows them
frozen to grow the stem and its sideway branches. It thus comes to a stage that two
neighboring branches almost at the same height of two successive neighboring stems
have grown to touch either other and isolate those melts remain within branches. When
these melts finally solidified, the gas/air originally dissolved in it tends to evolve out and
the contraction of the solidified melt materials results in some tidy pores to be formed
because the extra space cannot be filled up by liquid melts outside the solidified wall
boundary. Such solidification phenomenon and process thus form microporosities
within dendritic branches scattering randomly throughout the casting.
Figure A3: Grain growth during slow and natural cooling
Effect of microporosities on mechanical and thermal properties of a casting: ‐ Existing of
microporosities within a casting tends to reduce the actual cross‐sectional area Aa across a
specimen, which is considerably smaller than its nominal counterpart An under intact condition.
When the casting is stretched with a force F, the exerting tensile stress is thus equal to F/An for
intact condition and F/Aa for the condition with microporosites. As An > Aa, the exerted stress
F/An < F/Aa. If the fracture stress of the casting material is Sf, the applicable force onto casting
with microporosities to reach Sf is thus earlier or smaller than that onto the intact casting. Hence,
the mechanical property of casting with microporosities is weaker. As thermal conductivity of a
material is defined as the ability of a material to convey heat, it is also a measure of the ability of
electrons flowing from a place to another. Existence of microporosities within a casting
generally means the material is discontinuous and electrons cannot successfully flow such
discontinuous regions. As a result, it also gives poorer thermal conductivity.
The possible types of microsegregations occurring in the casting: ‐ As solidification starts from
inner wall and gradually propagate to the core of the cavity, the high freezing point element is
thus rich in outside layer and reduce gradually to the inner core. Hence, macrosegregation is
likely to take place in such cooling mode. Furthermore, the slow cooling rate allows more
heavier element to settle down in the bottom region of the casting, thus gravity segregation is
likely to be found. Considering the distribution of each dendritic grain, its root region is normally
rich in high melting elements which reduces as it grows outwards to the tip of the stem and
outer boundary of sideway branches, This results in the formation of microsegregation in a
normal way.
4) Figure 2a illustrates the setup features of fullering operation while Figure 2b shows those of
edging operation in forging. If a blank as shown in Figure 2c is forged to a connecting rod like
Figure 2d, briefly mention with the aid of sketches wherever necessary the roles of the two
operations in such production.
(10 marks)
(a) Fullering operation (b) Edging operation © A blank for forging (d) A forged and
trimmed product
Figure 2: Forging operations and conversion of blank to forged product
Guides to Solutions:
The convex die pair in fullering process can displace those materials in the middle section and
allow them to accumulate to both ends, as shown in Figure 2(a). The concave die pair in edging
process facilitates the gathering of materials to the concave zone, as shown in Figure 2(b).
Comparing the finishing product as shown in Figure 2(d) with the geometry of row material as
shown in Figure 2(c), it is seen that the product has connecting limb in the middle of a left large
bulk end which has a pierced hole in its centre and a relatively much smaller right bulk material.
It thus implies that fullering forging can be used to displace materials from the region of middle
connecting limb to either side, followed by the use of edging forging to accumulate materials to
the left for further forging to fabricate the features of the left and the right feature, respectively,
in its subsequent forging stage.
5) Incorrect product design or processing in individual manufacturing processes results in low
quality product which may be reworked or scrapped. It thus increases production cost and
lowers the competitiveness of a product. Describe the features and causing mechanisms of any
TWO of the FOUR in the following. Propose possible approach to prevent the occurrence of the
corresponding defect(s) which you have described.
(20 marks)
(i) A defect likely to occur in casting (10 marks)
(ii) A defect likely to occur in forging (10 marks)
(iii) A defect likely to take place in rolling (10 marks)
(iv) A defect likely to take place in extrusion (10 marks)
Guides to solutions: (Basically, you are asked to select any two processes from (i) to (iv), and
give only one defect for each selection. As there are a number of defects for each process, it is
too tedious to describe all them here. Hence only the guides to solutions here only give the
relevant slides in lecture notes and the associated pages in the descriptive notes. Students are
supposed to go through themselves. They are welcome to discuss or clarify with me if they wish).
For (i): ‐ Slides 12, 13 and 14 on class notes “Funcast” and Pages 7, 8 and 9 relevant descriptive
notes. Although microporosity is also a defect of casting, we do not consider it as the answer
here since question 3 is specifically dealing it already.
For (ii): ‐ Slide 41 on class notes “MetalCasting&ForgingP” and Pages 16 and 17 on descriptive
notes “Casting&Forging”
For (iii): ‐ Slide 5 and Slide 9 on class notes “Rolling&Extrsusion+DrawingP”, and Page 3 and
Pages 4, 5 and 6 on descriptive notes “Rolling&Exrusion‐Drawing processes”
For (iv): ‐ Slide 28 on class notes “Rolling&Extrusion+DrawingP”, and Page 14 on the descriptive
notes “Rolling&Extrusion‐Drawing processes”
Depending on your answer of selected defects, their approaches to minimize their occurrence
are different. You can come to discuss with me if you wish.