eC TECHNICAL PAPER : An effective filter for steel foundry applications 'T V Johnson’ Abstract An intensive 4-year development effort invloving steel foundries, foundry suppliers and acedamia has resulted in an effective molten-metal filter for steel foundry applica- tions. Presented are a general overview of the nature of the inchision problem in steel foundries, and the performance characteristics of the filter as determined in laboratories and foundries, ‘The filter works over a wide range of temperatures. For example, carbon steel poured between 1540°C (35°C. id 1675°C can be filtered. filter is easily applied in current gating systems. Application guidelines for using the filters are provided. based on estimated cleani vingsalone, filtersare economically justified for Introduction For a steel foundry shipping 500 tons of steel castings a month, reparation costs due to inclusions are typically about £500,000 per year'”. Although filters have been avait: able to steel foundries for up to four yearsand are effective inclusions, general acceptance by the steel foundry indusuy has been low, Many of the filters break if the meltis too hotor iftoo much slag enters the mould,and 1g the colder pours. In other ‘words, most filters do not perform consistently under the variety of conditions commonly encountered in steel foun dries. The technical obstacles to developing a steel fit would be widely accepted by the industry arc sig Although mostcarbon steel is poured at temperatures from about 1560 to 1620°C, the last moulds of cold heat maysee 1540°C (only 85°C supetheat) and the first moulds ofa hot heat may see 1675°C. Filters made of zirconia, alumina, Zircon and/or mullite, are readily available that can survive many of the higher temperatures. Hovever, pouring a carbon steel casting with only 35°Csuperheat using such fil- tersisvery difficult because there isnot enough heat in the al to bring the filter to pouring temperature without freezing metal in the filer. Many filter suppliers recom- mend metal bypass ystems and reservoirs thatallow metal to flow past the filter, thus preheating the filter and allevi- ating much of the freezing problem. Even with such, atleast 70°C superheat (1570°Cfor carbon steels) in the metal iste quired to consistently pass through the filter In 1989 uhe author and others" described an extruded cellular ceramic filter that showed promise in meeting the demands of stcel foundry applications. The mullite-based filter has a proprietary (patent pending) thermite coati that ignites to generate enough heat to pass steel comi from the ladle with only 88°Csupetheat, Aluminium oxide, the product of the thermite reaction, was demonstrated to protect the fiter from corroding and breaking at tempera- tues exceeding 1675°C, even when a very corrosive basic melting slag (35% CaO, 5% CaF,) was intentionally at- tached to the filter before pouring. Consing, New York M4831 In two years since that paper, the filter has been im. proved and is in the lattcr stages of ficld testing in the US, ‘This paper summarizes the resultsand experienceslearned to date on the application and benefits of the filter. summary of inchision sources and chemistry, along with a brief description of previously reported results on the filter are first presented. Inclusions in steel Knowing the source, chemistry, and morphology of inclu sions will help predict the extent that filtration can benefit steel foundries, Also, the background on incl point to minor changes in practice or small moves in melt chemistry that may reduce the amount of inclusions co1 ing into the mould or at least make them more filterable. Some inclusions, such assand, slag and refractory pieces are readily identified and corrected. However, after more than 30 years of investigation, the source of the predomi nant ‘ceroxide’ inclusion in steel cast I debated, ‘even though the chemistry and two principle causes of the ceroxide inclusions in steel have been identifice. The ceroxide inclusions are thought to result from either a reaction ofthe meltwith refractory orwith air™*®, The chemistry of inclusions from these two sources in very similar, in that they contain MnO, Al, SiO, and FeO, ‘This undoubtedly has contributed to the debate. ‘The refractory reaction ‘The corrosion of refractories by the metal hasbeen demon strated" to occur by the reaction: 4 A143 SiO, (refractory) - 2 Al,O, (inclusion) + 3 where the underlined species are dissolved in the metal Other alloys that form stable oxides such as chromium, zirconium, and titanium can substitute for aluminium, Lyman, etal” substituted radioactive silicon into the fireclay refractory of a ladle to demonstrate that anywho from 16 to 90 percent of the silicon in ceroxide inclusion ‘comes from the refractory. However, in another heat in which the radioactive silicon was added to the melt, about 60 percent of the ceroxide silicon came from the metal. ‘These results suggest that ceroxides come from both the refractory and oxidation of the melt, and that the propor- tions from each source y over wide ranges. Blowing high-pressure air at the metal stream had no effect on the ceroxidesin the castings, nordid backfilling the mould with wogen before pouring, suggesting that the reaction with] ‘oxygen from the air was not significant under their condi- tions. Inclusion chemistries were correlated to both melt and refractory chemistryin several different ypes of exper ments Flinn and n Vlack, etal." found that fireclay refracto- carbon steel to form inclusions with compo- sitions similar (0 those obtained by Lyman, etal. Fl tentionally introduced air to the melt while pouring into a mould. and found no significant in inchision level or chemistry compared to gathered from the pourspout, Clean alumina and imaagne- sia refractories resist corrosion by the steel, but severely corrode when brought in contact with slag prior to expo- The Foundryman October 1991sure to'the melt Ashton and Sharman’ found that ceroxide inclusions could be reduced significantly if chemically-bonded alu used instead of conventional ramming materials 1 nozzles in bottom-poured ladles. They also matched diameter to casting and ladle size to affect the flow of stecl in the vicinity of the nozzle, and thus inhibiting inclusions from forming by erosion of the refractory in the hottom of the ladle. Using the proper nozzle size also minimizes the amount of throttling by the operator to limit the flow, thus reducing turbulence in the metal coming out of the nozzle and limiting the reaction of metal with air High-alumina refractories and disposable ladle liners of variotts compositions are now commonly used in ladles. Both of these developments result in cleaner stcel castings, butdo not entirely eliminate refractory-sourced inclusions. ‘The stopper-nozzle region of bottom-poured ladles is still a source of inclusions, probably from a combination of ¢ra- sion by metal and slag attack The reaction with air Because of high temperaturesand the presence of reactive oxide formers (aluminium, silicon, manganese) steel will very quickly react with air to form inclusions. The reactions ‘cur during metal transfer operations when turbulence causes fresh metal surfaces to be exposed to air, and when the metab air interface is greatly expanded, Vingas, ctal.© analysed slag prior to pouring, from a swirl riser, and at the casting in numerous pours. They found that the alumina level in the ceroxides increased from the furnace to the riser and then to the casting. Because aluminium was present only in the melt, the alumina in the inclusions could only come from the oxida- tion of the melt byair during pouring and transport in the mould. Preece” used petrographic analysis, and Griffin etal used microprobe analyses to ceduce that most of the macrovinclusions in steel come from oxidation by air. Preece found that the composition of the inclusions nicely tracked the reactive species of the melt. However, Flinn, et.al." found that such a correlation is also present when refrato- ries are corroded. Griffin, et.al. analysed over 600 incli- sions from production castings. Correlations of the incl sion chemistry to that of the moulding materials, melt, and refractories were used to deduce that more than 80 percent of ceroxide inclusions come from oxidation of the melt by air ‘The above and other studies™ show that both refractory corrosion and metal oxidation are important sources of inclusions in steel castings. The sources of ceroxide inclu sions strongly depend on foundry practice: refractories, ladle type, gating design, and melt chemisuy. Evidence in the literature suggests that few inclusionsare formed in the mould eavity, but are present in the metal before it enters the mould cavity. This would indicate that filters have significant potential for helping to make cleaner castings. Filterability of inclusions Whethe filter deper reference. the MnO ed by johnson Shown on the! ornot a ceroxide inclusion will be wrapped bya ison inclusion morphology and ehemisy. For ig-I shows am estimate of the liquid regions in }O,1-ALO, system at 1200, ail." using data by Fujisawa and figureare the compositional ranges TECHNICAL PAPER SD Uyro0, et. 0. &®D Vingos, et. 01. Chet m QDrinnt BD ciitin, eo A, Fig.1 MnO SiO, AIO, phase diagram estimated by Johnson, eval” Regions represent inclusion compositions determined by Various authors, FeO ta the inclusion is plowed 8 MnO of inclusions analysed in some of the referenced stucies. ‘The bulk compositions of ceroxide inclusions in com- mercial castings as determined by Lyman etal. fall well thin the liquid region of the system at steel pouring temperatures. However, many of these inclusions con tained sintered silica grainsand are described as spongy" in the more detailed original report", These inclusions are irregularly shaped and thought to behave as though they were solid, They found that inclusion chemistry tracked melt chemistry. Inclusions in alu Ned steel have 10 to 15 percent more alumina that those in silicor-killed stecl. Also the manganese oxide content of the inclusions increases at the expense of sila as the Mn:S melt increases, Vingas, et.al® found that inclusionsin castin in chemistry and have a liquidus temperature close to that of the pouring temperature. It is quite probable that such inclu 0 viscous and filterable. Flinn and Van Viack, etal." found thatwhen high-alumina fireclay refrac- tories are corroded, highalumina inclusions form that have a high viscosity. Many of the petrographic analyses of inclusions in the aforementioned studies indicate corundum. (alumina). which implies the inclusion precursor is high in alumina and therefore has a relatively high melting point. The reported chemistry of inclusions thought 10 come from refractory corrosion or melt oxidation is generally high in alumina, This type of inclusion may effectively be stopped by a fitt ase the inclusion chemistry tracks melt chemistry. the only inclusion type that may be too fluid to er is one formed from a melt with a low aluminium content and high silicon and manganese contents, or with ahigh Mn: hum and limiting the manga h compositional exibility would tend to make inclusions more filterable, Previous investigations on cellular ceramic filters for steel applications Previous studi "have demonstrated that even very small inclusions can be effectively removed from steel The Foundryman October 1991 385TECHNICAL PAPER 38 epee treed 30} 020 4 25: (ng /s0e sem®), 204 Average Flow Rate Through Filter (Ibs/sec. T e 100200300400 00 NO rites Filter Cell Sizes (CSI) Fig: Unit area Now rates of steel poured dhrough varie filters. Flow rates drecly proportional to (ferrastatic Ihead was 176inm in these experiments ‘eller ceramic ad) Fervosatc using cellularceramic filters, For example, Ali, Muth: asan, and Apelian'™ removed all inclusions larger than about 3 microns from steel using a cellular filter Sem thick with 62 cells per cm? (400 cells per in.*, 400 cis). When the cell length (lilter thickness) is increased to 10cm, all ine sions greater than 115 microns are removed by the filters. The authors reported that the inchusions sinter to the internal cell walls of the filter and that a mechanism quite differentfrom simple sievingisoperative. The metal flowed. vertically through the filters. Su, et.al." showed how both the filtration efficiency of macro:inclusions and metal flow rate depend on the cell density of the cellular filter. Fig.2 shows how the unit area Now rate of steel through filters steadily decreases with increasing cell density, even though the open frontal area (percent of filter face that is open} is constant at about 65 percent forall filters, With increasing cell density the metal- mic interface increases, resulting in greater frictional and surface energy effects. Su, etal. reported that dhe exposed filter area should be at least 4 times the system choke area to prevent the filter from acting as the choke, Fig.3 shows how filtration efficiency increases with in- creasing cell density, as determined by Su, etal. The capa bility ofa filter to remove fluid inclusions increases mark: edly when the cell density is increased from 7.8 cells/cm {50 esi) (0 15.5 {0 200 csi). The filtration efficiency of solid inclusionsis less dependent on cell density. The filter with 7.8.cells/em? (50- esi) removes 73 percent of those inclusions, The filter with 31.0 cells/cm, (200-csi) removes 84 percent Su, etal. conchudedl the filter with 15.5 cells/em* (100 csi) provided the best compromise between unit area flow rate and filtration efficiency Johnson, etal.” further developed and conducted foun- ciry tests with that filter, The authors reported results on. fatigue testing of filtered and unfiltered test bars, and on 386 a Fitrton Etficiesey ss & © apr egtargeeemsons x Fluid inclusions on 0 ope suites 4 ue 70 Filter Celt Oeasity Fig.3Filuation efficiency of various cellular ceramic filters. Determined on a standard step pate casting under laboratory conditions the low- and high-temperature tests (priming and durabik ity tests, respectively) used to develop the cellular ceramic steel filter. Filtration results from commercial foundry tests were provided. As-cast test bars made using filters with 15.5 cells/cm? (100 esi) have fatigue strengths about 15 percent greater than ered bars. The evidence suggests filters can be effective in removing fine inclusions. The authors reported that several iterations among filter devel ‘opment, laboratory testing and field testing resulted in a reliable laboratory test that could accurately predict the priming performance and high-temperature durability of filters used in commercial foundries. A prototype filter was described that consistently filters low-earbon steel poured at temperatures from 1535 to 1675°C. Condition | <116" | steve" | >a" (1.6mm) |(1.6-6.4mm) [6.4mm Fitered 2a 4 ° Fitored 23 ° 0 Fitored 12 ° 0 Filtorod 32 ° ° Filtored 15 1 ° Fitorod 4 2 ° Filtered 4 1 ° Fitered 1" ° ° Av.Fillered 178 1.0 ° Uniitered | 12 2 ° Unfitered | 47 6 ° Untitered | 14 2 0 Unfitered 1 0 4 1 able 1: Number and sizeof defects on get (alter machining 3.2m capes 0.125 The Founaryman October 1991 |TECHNICAL PAPER | Machined castings Figet Photograph of pattern platesand WCCstectvalve adapterbodiesmade ‘with and without filters. Back eastings were made with Fillers, Front eanlng ‘widhout flere Johnson, et.al. gave descriptions of three different commercial foundry tests conducted on the prototype filter. For reference, photographs of the cope pattern before and after installing the filter print, and of the castings from one of these tests are shown in Fig.4. The casting is a valve adapter of WCC carbon steel (0.18% Cy 1.20% Mn). Table 1 shows the inclusion counts obtained from the cope afier machining $.2mm (1/8") from the surface of the casting, The filtered castings have 40 percent fewer inclusions smaller than 1.6mm, These results ade to anid substandate the laboratory filtration results show in ig. Summary of results from recent field tests The prototype cellular ceramic fier with the thermite coating (patent pending) described by Johnson, etal. is The Founctyman October 1997 how in limited production and is undergoing extensive field testing. An overview of the commercial foundry results is presey along with an inclusion count study done in a production foundry. The section concludes 1¢s clerived from foundry experi- ences, Overview of field test program to date More than 25 North American and British foundries have successfully tested more than 1000 filters. Six foundries are using filters regularly. With few exceptions, significant improvements in casting cleanliness result from the use of filters. Approximately 2/3 of the applications to date have been on stainless steels, but equivalent or better filtration results have been observed for carbon and low alloy steels. There have been no reports of filter failures. AM filters, have survived. More importantly, all filters have primed steel under production conditions, except for an isolated instance when filters failed to prime WCC carbon steel poured at only 1525°C (20°C superheat), Plugged filters have been observed in three foundries. The use of larger filters adequately solved those problems Inclusion counts on a test plate made in a commercial foundry In the carly stages of the filter field test programme, a ‘commercial foundry filtration test was conducted to sort ‘out some important variables that might affect casting cleanliness. Test plates were made to check the affect casting cleanliness using combinations of pressurised and unpressurised rmner systems, green sand and nobake moulds, and open and blind ‘risers through which the runners passed, In addition, argon gas was backflushed into some moulds prior to pouring. The filters were placed ale [fe fe fe fet al al? sy ye |e fa] a) a): 387er orn on ect wate er = ‘ he a mengenses ela |e onto gla] t reat ala | treet, lat] & tent ela |e eet see srt o]t somtti als} 8 crane aja] paren tlal og Sanat eis] ot “Casng TBs tnd boca was oy on wi fin ps urbe. (cessagasienethoutodbocaetiter2Apggedth inv, ondtwan tet ‘re pared ‘Table 3: Summary of average inclusion counts vom a fest plate poured ina production foundry after machining 3.2mun off the cope surface ners, and all moulds had cope ingates. There x 28.4 x 5.lem (6x 10x 2 inch) WCC e jould. The first mould was poured at about 1 per (only 20°C superheat). The cope surfaces of the castings wereground 3.2cm (1/8inch) and inspected. All holesand inclusions were counted and categorised by size ‘Table 2 shows the pour conditions and inclusion ¢ for all of the castings, and Table 3 presents per averages of the results. For all combinations of ¥ filters reduced the number of inclusions in all three size categoriesby atleast 40 percent, and reduced the frequency of the large inclusions by 63 percent, Filters reduced the number of small inclusions by 68 percent in castings made sing nobake moulds, and completely eliminated the larger ichisions. Filters removed only 40 percent of the small \gs made using green sand. Neither the type of ris ner system, no mould atmosphere had an effect on casting cleanliness. The cleanest casting was filtered and made using a nobake mould, Although the pouring temperatures were rather lowand the inclusion counts relatively high, these filtration eff ciency results are not much different from those on the production castings shown in Fig4 and summarised in ‘Table 1. Interestingly, many of the inclusions missing from the cope surfaces of the filtered castings were general ceroxidles (in the FeO, MnO, Al,O,, SiO, system), but very few of these inclusions were found on the filters, However, was found on the filter (Fig.5). The ceroxide 1 thermodynamically stable when immersed aluminitm-killed steel. It reacts with the al the ste] flowing past the inclusion by the reaction: 2Al+ (Fe, Mn, Si) x 08 -Al,O, +x (Fe, Mn, Si) ‘The iron, manganese and silicon contained in the incl jon dissolve backinto the melt, lea luminaon the iter Application guidelines There are only two criteria that have to be met to properly sire the filter for the application desired metal flow rate, andl total metal 10 be filtered, {Inclusions on Inet face of titer Fig Photographs of Fite recovered (ram runner bars of commercial castings, Altiough the iter removes eeroxides containing MnO, SiO, and FeO, ahiminiua in the metal redces diese oxides, eaving mostly alumina in clusions in (Hop) or on (bottom) the filter Regarding metal flow rate through the runmer system, it the runner system choke, not the filter, 1 ¢ of stcel. Fig.2 shows the stecl flow rates through cellular filters with various cell densities under one set of conditions. The flow rate will vary with the ferrostatic head, temperature, metal cleanliness, and metal composition. Foundry flow rates for a filter with 15.5 dells per em? (100 csi) range from 0.12 to 0.19kg/sec per cm’ol Ustiable filter area. About 4 to 7mm around the perimeter of filter is needed to hold the filter in place is portion isnot to be counted as the usable filterarea. A more general Useful rule is that the total usable filter area bias to be at least four times larger than the area of the runner system choke (ilter:choke = 4 to 6:1) Meeting the capacity req is not done correctly, the f is filled. However, the capacity of the filter is very depend ent on foundry conditions. As much as 210kg has passed through a 73mm square filter in one foundry, but the same sized filter blocked with inclusions after only passing 70kg ‘foundry. Only actual filter trials will determine hasadequate capacity, A useful starting point for applying the filter is that nomore than 3.5kg of steel peren of usable filter area should pass through the filter ‘The filter is installed in an expanded scetion of the runner sestem, Fig.6 shows drawings of two similar filter 388 The Foundryman October 199)TECHNICAL PAPER A |, Fig Diagrams of Filter Peat lasaled on runner patterns. Inthe top print, {iefikterstsonacrush pointwhichsecuresthe iter thecope. Alternatively, ‘the bottom print secures a portion ofthe filter in the cope prints that illustrate the concept. The p those successfully used in iron foundries, in which a filter: installed in a vertical orientation in a drag runner. Fig.Ga shows the whole filter contained in thedrag, and hasacrush point onto which the filter sits. When the mould is closed, the crush point enables the filter 10 seal to the cope. (Without the crush point, filters on the small end of the \ensional specification will leave a gap between the filter and the cope). The print is especially suitable for green sand moulds. An alternative print is shown in Fig.6b, i which a portion of the filter support is contained in the cope. Thisprintcan be used in both nobakeand green sand ould, For the sake of conducting initial filtration tests, the filter can be easily installed in the current runner system using, adaptations of the prims shown in Fig.6. However, to optimally apply the filter, additional guidelines are recom- mended: 1) Ufeasible, one filter should be placed in each runner barfeeding the casting. The filter should be located asclose to the mould cavity as practical. 2) To minimise reoxidation inclusions from forming in the metal coming outof the filter, a cope ingate shortly alter the filter is recommended. As'a result, the runner bar containing the filter quickly fills, protecting the fered metal from reoxidation. 38) Many steel foundries with botiom-poured ladles use Funner systems with gating ratios from 1:2:22 to 1:2:4c4 (nozzle:spruc:runner:ingate). With filters, the larger run- ner bars are no longer needed to float inclusions, A sug- gested gating ratio 1 2 22 Bol2 : 24 nozale : filter: ingue (mould choke: filte 14106) sprue ‘The choke ofthe mould isthe sprue. Thishelpskeep sh and large inclusions in the pouring cup. The runners and ‘enlarged slightly to counter frictional losses int hessstem. When converting (o thissystem, upwards of 15k, ofsteel have heen taken out of the runner barin some cases. Because the wsable area of the filter isat least four times the choke, the pouring times should be the same as if no filter were used, 4) The filter can be applied in an horizontal orientation ata location where the runner bar changes vertical direc- tion (such as from drag to cope). 5) Although attractive, installing the filter at the base of the spruc is undesirable. The resttts from foundries have been mixed in these applications, ‘Theoretically, a vertical orientation (horizontal flow) is preferred over an horizontal orientation because it takes advantage of inclusion flotation within the filters cells, andl subsequent capture of the inclusion on the internal cell walls of the filter. Ashton’s"" analysis of ralatively large inclusions floating in a rumner bar can be extended to the ‘case of small inclusions floating within a filter cell. A 300 micron inclusion will float about 0.lem, or half a cell height, in the 5Omsec it takes to travel through the filter Chances are good such an inclusion will contact a vetical filterand stick, even though the inclusion isonly'13 percent ‘of the size of the cell. Inclusion flotation inside a vertically orientated filter will not occu Filtration economics ‘The estimates of filtration economics are in a state of evolution, and come from experiences with filtration in the US market. The intent of this discussion is to provide an illustration of how filters affect cleaning room costs. The economic benefits of filtration will come from a variew of sources, Some benefitsare readily estimated, but othersare relatively intangible and will vary significantly with foundry circumstances, For example, economic contributions such as improved casting quality. greater foundiy product increased foundry capacity, and more reproducible ca will have a major impact on the complete economic asses ment, but are not considered here, Mould vield improve. ments due to downsized runners, and lower internal scrap rates provide readily estimated economic benefit, but the vast majority of tangible savings are from the cleaning Stainless steel Estimates of cleaning room savings from filters in stainless steel applications are best provided in the folloewing sum: Value per kg of casting £4.80 t0 £5.70 Item Casting Production Cost (stainless) Cleaning Room Costs £0. (15 0 20 % of production costs) wold Inclusion Costs £0.19 10 £0.57 (30 to 50 % of 1g FoOM costs) The Foundryman October 1997 389[ TECHNICAL PAPER Gross Filter Savings. £0.08 w £0.40 (40 10 70 % inclusion removal; filte included) Gross Filter Costs (avg. 10% of filter total capacity; and 50 10 60% mould yield) £0.08 t0 £0.18 Production and inclusiin costs generally vary inversely with casting size. On average, one might expect filters to save £0.20 to £0.30 per kg for small stainless castings, and £0.05 to £0.15 per kg for large castings in the cleaning room alone. Carbon and low alloy steel Estimates of cleaning room costs for carbon and low alloy steel castings are given below: em Casting Production Cost (carbon and low alloy) Cleaning Room Costs (20 to 60% of produciton costs) Value per kg of casting £1.30 10 £1.90 £20.26 to £0.57 Inclusion Costs £0.08 to £0.34 (30 to 60% of cleaning rooms costs) Gross Filter Savings £0.03 to £0.24 (40 to 70% inclusion removal; filter costs not included) Gross Fiker Costs (avg. 70% of filter total capacity; and 50 to 60% mould yield) £0.08 10 £0.18 Certainly, carbon snd low alloy steel castings that are expensive (0 produce or that have high inclusion costs can be economically filtered based on cleaning room savings alone. However, for carbon and some low alloy steel cast- ings that have low inclusion costs, the use offfitersateurrent price levels may not be justified on cleaning room savings alone. Other foundry savings, such as yield improvement, and capacity and productivity increases may have to be considered to justify filtering these castings. Conclusions A cellular-ceramic filter has been developed that is easily used, and meets the technical and economic requirements of steel foundries, The ability to filter steel poured at low levels of superheat is provided by a unique exothermic coating (patents pending) on the ceramic filter The filter hasexceptional durability and has not failed in more than 1000 foundry tests. review of the sourcesand compositions of inchusionsin steel castings is given. In many cases, the troublesome ceroxide inchisions have a morphology which allows them to be filtered. Evidence from the fiterature snggests tha inereasing the aluminium content or decreasing the nay _ganese content of steel melts will increase the viscosity o ceroxide inclusions and threfore improve the chances 0 filtering them from the metal Also presented are new and previous results obtained o filtration efficiency in laboratory and production settings pending on inch: pe, castings made will filters have 40 to 80 percent fewer inclusions than unfil tered castings. The correct filter size is determined b considering the metal flow rates and total metal filtered, Finally, an economic evaluation based on cleaning roon costs and savings from filters for stainless, and carbon anc alloy steels is presented. Filters are justified in staintes applications based on cleaning room savings alone. Maw carbon and alloy steel castings can also be economicall filtered. References 1, Hofman E,, Kolorz A., Siefer W. ‘Slagging of steel an moulding material in the production of steel castings, Part 1 Metatturgical Interactions’. Report from The Institute for Found Technology, Dusseldorf. 2. Johnson T V., Kind H C., Wallace J F., Nieh CY., Kim hi J. “Laboratory and foundry performance characterisation of e Treded cellular ceramic filters for stel foundry applications’. AR Transactions, 1989, pp. 879886. Also published in: Elect Furnace Proceedings, Vol.46, Pitishurgh, 1988, pp. 425-434, Lyman W S., Boulger F W., Sims C W., Briggs C W: haracter and source of cevoxide defect on steel castings’: AR Transactions, 1963, pp. 358-368. 4, Flinn R A. Van Flack L H., Colligan G A. ‘Mac inclusions in stel castings’. AFS Transactions, 1966, pp. 485 512, 6. Ashton M G,, Sharman $ G. ‘Control of he as-cast quality steel castings’, AFS Transactions, 1964, pp. 719-728. 6, Vingas G J., Zrimsek AH., Carney L, ‘Ceroxide origins tracer program’. AFS Transactions, 1964, pp. 798-805. 7, Preece R E. ‘Identification of surface and subcutancon macrorinclusions’. APS Cast Metal Research Journal, 9/65, pp 12-20, 8, Griffin J A., Bates C E., Monroe R W., Svoboda J ‘Appearance und composition of oxide macroinclusions in lee castings’ AFS Transactions 1987. 9, Inclusions in see, literature search available from APS. 10, Fujisawa T., Sakao H. Tetsu-to-Hagane, 63, 1977, p. 1494 1504. 11, Lyman W S., Boulger FW. ‘A determination of the factor prodicing the cevoxide defec on steel castings; Part one- compos tion and sources’ SFSA 1961. 12. AliS., Mutharasan R,, Apelian D. ‘Physical refining of ste melts by filtration’. Met, Trans. B, Vol.16B, 12/85, pp. 725-742 13. SuWM., Johnson T V., Wallace J F., LiF., Day] P. ‘Th development and characterisation of extruded cellular cerarit fillers for steel foundry applications’. APS Transactions, papier 88 12, 1988. 14. Ashton M G, ‘Gating system design and botton-pour ladl practice - their interactive effect on ascast quality’. Journal o Research, SCRATA, No.7, December 1979, pp. 2°25. 390 The Founatyman October 199