Slag Blowholes, Which Are Confused with

Shrinkage Cavities
IMPORTANT FOR PRACTICE
This does not refer to slag which rises to the surface
during pouring, or into the dirt trap shortly afterwards.
The type of slag to be described separates only during
solidification, whereby very finely emulsified droplets of
slag are forced from the dendrites into the residual melt,
where they become concentrated (Fig. 460). Only then
do the drops float and thrust against the upper wall,
which has already solidified into a thick layer.
This slag porosity is often exposed only with the final
cut during machining, and the castings are then irrecoverably
lost.
Slag porosity is recognized by the fact that the slag
can be detected on close examination. Often it occurs
only as a thin skin (Fig. 461), as slag beads (Fig. 462),
or as larger angular fragments (Fig. 463). Severe cases
are comparatively rare (Fig. 464) but when present they
give a clear indication of their presence (see also
Fig. 465)