28 Int. J. Materials and Product Technology, Vol. 53, No.

1, 2016

Prediction of the effectiveness of the feeding system

of carbon steel sand castings using the solid fraction
criterion. Application to square bars

Valentín Miguel-Eguía*,
María Carmen Manjabacas-Tendero
and Nuria Medina-Ríos
Faculty of Industrial Engineering of Albacete,
Regional Development Institute,
University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM),
Avda. España, 02071, Albacete, Spain
Email: valentin.miguel@uclm.es
Email: mcarmen.manjabacas@uclm.es
Email: Nuria.Medina@alu.uclm.es
*Corresponding author

Abstract: This work analyses the dimensioning of a gating-risering system for

a particular piece that consists in a low carbon steel square bar. Empirical rules
are considered and a simple gating system is designed. Several variations about
the distance between risers and their location in the mould are submitted to
simulation, for which the VULCAN software (ATZ Quantech) is employed. To
evaluate gating-risering system action, the solid fraction criterion is considered.
The results show good agreement between the simulation results and the
empirical solution. Onset of porosity takes place only for a longer distance at
the end of the bar than the end effect, which corresponds to the empirical
solution. Empirical rules allow us to optimise the distance between risers,
although longer distances are allowed for the coldest part of the piece. This
work provides a better understanding of sand casting processes and how to
analyse the related simulation results.

Keywords: steel casting; feeding system; gating system; risers; solid fraction;
finite element method; FEM; simulation.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Miguel-Eguía, V.,

Manjabacas-Tendero, M.C. and Medina-Ríos, N. (2016) ‘Prediction of the
effectiveness of the feeding system of carbon steel sand castings using the solid
fraction criterion. Application to square bars’, Int. J. Materials and Product
Technology, Vol. 53, No. 1, pp.28–41.

Biographical notes: Valentín Miguel-Eguía is a PhD Mechanical Engineer. He

is an Associate Professor of Materials Processing Technology and the Dean of
the Faculty of Industrial Engineering of Castilla-La Mancha University. His
research is focused on the materials technology field, properly in tribology and
materials forming, welding and casting, and education. He belongs to a
researching institute department that develops fundamental research and gives
technical support to companies. He has been co-author of more than 30 papers
in indexed journals and proceedings books and has contributed with more than
50 communications in conferences.

Copyright © 2016 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

 Prediction of the effectiveness of the feeding system 29

María Carmen Manjabacas-Tendero is PhD Industrial Chemist and a Partial-

Time Professor of Manufacturing Processes Engineering in the Industrial
Engineering School of Castilla-La Mancha University. She is a teacher of
chemistry and physics in a high school and her researching is focused on
chemistry models (seven papers in indexed int. journals), materials technology
and high education (more than 15 papers in indexed int. journals and
conference proceeding books). She has participated in 26 conferences.

Nuria Medina-Ríos is a Bachelor graduate in Mechanical Engineering and has a

Master degree in Industrial Engineering. She has a Master degree in Secondary
Education too. He did a Bachelor’s thesis in the field of casting simulation and
it was supervised by V. Miguel and N.C. Manjabacas. This paper is based on
the simulation work carried out in the Bachelor’s thesis of Nuria Medina.

1 Introduction

Nowadays, different finite element method (FEM)-based software applications are used
to simulate casting processes. The literature on the risering and gating design for
moulding processes reveals that traditional principles are still employed for design
estimations (Carlson et al., 2002; Guleyoupoglu, 1997; Rio Tinto and Titanium Inc.,
2000; Shouzhu et al., 2002; Steel’s Founder’s Society of America, 2001). Thus a group of
rules may be considered for dimensioning gating and risering systems and several
experimental criteria are usually adopted for positioning the different elements that take
part in these systems. Campbell (2003, 2004) considers ten basic rules for casting
practice in terms of gating and feeding or risering systems. As regards the gating system,
the fundamentals or rules state that the liquid metal front should not go too fast, no part of
the liquid metal front should come to a stop before the mould cavity is completely filled,
and no air bubbles, entrained by the filling system or from out gassing cores or moulds,
should pass through the liquid metal in the mould cavity. According to what has been
previously described (Vinarcik, 2003), understanding the bulk liquid metal flow often
proves useful, but the flow of the metal at the fill front is still a matter of concern. The
aforementioned requirements can lead to a maximum filling time value which, in any
case, might beno higher than a critical value. In other cases, failures in the mould, such as
sand insertions into the part, might be due to the mould’s inadequate heat-resistance
properties (Holzmüller et al., 1970; Morales and Villate, 1963). Therefore, the
thermo-physical properties of sand must be known and given the importance of sand
thermal properties on solidification and cooling during casting, accurately describing
these properties is necessary to predict casting results. Important material characteristics
to describe heat transport, heat storage and heat release for all the materials employed in
the casting system are: density (ρ); specific heat capacity (cp); thermal diffusivity (α);
thermal conductivity (λ) (Midea et al., 2007). It has been demonstrated that sand
composition influences these values and, consequently, the mould’s chilling effect
(Jelínek and Elbel, 2010). Other considerations must be made for latent heat and for the
heat transfer coefficient (HTC) in this context. Whenever two materials come into
contact, the drop in temperature between them may be considerable. Thermal contact
resistance between materials depends on the interfacial HTC among them. Although a
HTC cannot be measured directly, experiments help establish metal-sand contact values
30 V. Miguel-Eguía et al.

of between 400 and 1,000 Wm–2K–1 (Midea et al., 2007). The heat removal rate reaches
these values when cooling is significant, and even during the filling process. Therefore,
superheat and latent heat are transferred to the die before the alloy becomes stationary.
Thus the metal far from the gate can be partially solid before die filling ends. This
transient heat flow results in more heat being transferred to the die near the gate (ASM
Metals Handbook, 1998).
It is well-known that the main aim of a risering system is to avoid shrinkage zones in
the part. Chvorinov’s rule guarantees that risers always solidify after the part. Risering is
supported by determining the local thermal modulus. This modulus describes the
relationship between the heat content of a volume and the cooling power of surrounding
surfaces. Therefore, it is necessary to design risers with a higher thermal modulus than
thatwhich corresponds to the area of the piece to be fed (Holzmüller et al., 1970; Morales
and Villate, 1963). There should be enough risers to avoid the shrinkage of any part of
the piece without it being fed by any riser. Then an action law for risers is defined
according to empirical considerations (Holzmüller et al., 1970; Morales and Villate,
1963; Rio Tinto and Titanium Inc., 2000; Steel’s Founder’s Society of America, 2001).
Feeding distance is the distance from the riser to the furthest point in the casting on which
the riser can provide fed metal, which results in sound casting. Risers must provide a
sufficient volume of metal to compensate the part’s shrinkage volume. Some authors
have defined feeding effectiveness as a parameter that expresses how much solidification
can occur before the remaining liquid can no longer be fed to adjacent volumes (Dedmon
et al., 2008). Finally, a minimum value for the feeding pressure from a riser is necessary,
and implies using atmospheric risers or having to design the riser with a specific
slenderness or height to diameter ratio of the riser. Sometimes, the particular
characteristics of the molten metal provide a suitable pressure value to feed the part (Rio
Tinto and Titanium Inc., 2000).
Thus explicit solutions involve considering the empirical solutions that are
experimentally valid for simple shapes. Filling and thermal analyses must be run
according to the designer’s experience and there is no way of proving if the selected
solution is the best one. Currently, several FEM-based casting simulation software
versions are available. Simulations are approaches that allow us to learn how a process
behaves when different variables are modified. It is important to capture correct inputs
and their ranges, and to validate outputs with test data (Dedmon et al., 2008).
Nevertheless, using software simulation implies a previous design based on casting
experience and fundamentals. Employing casting simulation software requires some
previously studied inputs; for example, total time required to fill the mould cavity, or the
thermophysical characteristics of the different materials that participate in the process.
Gating and risering systems need to be previously designed. The number of gates, the
dimensions of the sprue, runners and gates, and their position in the mould must all be
estimated. The risering system must be contemplated by applying the same philosophy.
Then simulation will improve the previous design and will help change anything
according to the computer results. In short, simulation technologies need the input of the
initial and boundary conditions, which are usually provided by engineers. By considering
all these conditions, models are applied to all kinds of mechanical, physical or chemical
processes, and simulation informs engineers about what results can be expected when
going through the process defined by them. It is an iterative trial-and-error process that
needs to be interpreted by an engineer. Some decisions must be made after any
 Prediction of the effectiveness of the feeding system 31

simulation run, despite the current advances made in computer optimisation applications
(Hartmann et al., 2003).
This work analysed a low carbon steel bar moulded by sand gravity casting. The
filling times, and the gating and risering systems, were calculated according to the
classical criteria employed by other authors for such pieces (Álvarez, 1964; Holzmüller
et al., 1970; Morales and Villate, 1963). The part was simulated by VULCAN®
(Quantech ATZ SA). The different positions of risers were considered and the
effectiveness of the risering system was analysed. The results demonstrated good
agreement between simulation and empirical methodologies.

2 Materials and methods

A long-length low carbon steel bar was considered, which had a transversal section of
70 × 70 mm2. Barlength, 1,300 mm, was established to build a risering system with more
than two risers. In this way, the end effect of the last area of the part, the action between
risers and the effect of the filling system on the first zone of the piece should be analysed.

2.1 Empirical gating system estimation

The estimation of the filling time in expendable mould casting can be carried out
according to Chvorinov’s rule. Some authors have established the constant factor that
appears in the rule expression from the heating transfer theory (Colton, 2011; López,
2011). However, this study applies an empirical rule, as obtained by Trencklé (Álvarez,
1964; Morales and Villate, 1963) and presented in an abacus format. According to the
bar’s transversal dimensions, a very high time value is necessary for the onset of metal
solidification in the mould. Therefore, a shorter filling time must be established given the
mould’s characteristics. A filling time of over 15 s is considered adequate to promote
surface defects for sand moulds (Morales and Villate, 1963). A filling time value, tf, of
15 s was considered to design the filling system.
From Bernoulli’s theorem and mass continuity expressions, equation (1) was
established to obtain the total section of the gates, SAT. In equation (1), P represents the
cast metal weight, g is the gravity constant, d is the metal density, H is sprue height, and
α is a friction loss factor in the metal flow. For the design presented herein, a value of 0.9
was considered for α and a value of 90 mm was selected for H.
P
S AT = (1)
α ⋅ d ⋅t f 2⋅ g ⋅ H
Metal weight, P, was considered 15% heavier than the weight of the part to evaluate the
metal included in the filling and risering systems. Finally, a typical relationship 1:2:1 was
selected for the transversal sections of the sprue, runner and the total section of the gates,
respectively. This relationship corresponds to a typical pressurised foundry system. Some
more considerations were taken into account, such as a conical shape of the sprue to
avoid air entering, and the relative position runnergates to avoid turbulence forming on
the piece limit cavity. Figure 1 depicts all the dimension details of the filling system. Two
gates of equal dimensions were considered and positioned on one of the extremes of the
bar. Other filling systems could have been designed by considering more gates, another
32 V. Miguel-Eguía et al.

relative position of the gates in the bar, using more sprues, etc. (Hsu et al., 2009). The
aim of selecting a unique gating system on the extreme of the bar was to study the
feeding action of the risering system, but with no interaction of the filling system, which
is in accordance with the objectives of the present research.

Figure 1 Geometrical definition of the filling system

Another aspect which could have been considered is a Reynold’s number under 20,000 in
order to guarantee the laminar flow of the liquid metal filling the mould (Kalpakjian and
Smith, 2010). This consideration usually leads to an excessive dimension for the gates
being set as a minimum metal height, H, which is mandatory according to the mould
dimensions and pouring conditions in foundry jobs. The laminar flow condition was not
guaranteed herein, but possible effects were analysed by software simulation after
considering the velocity vectors of the metal at the mould cavity entrance.

2.2 Calculation and design of the risering system.

According to Chvorinov’s rule, the thermal modulus for risers, Mr, must be larger than
the thermal modulus of the part, Mp. An Mr value, which was 20% larger than Mp, was
considered according to the empirical criterion of Jeancolas (1961) and Wlodawer (1977)
for normal risers, equation (2). A cylindrical shape for risers and a diameter to height
ratio, Dr/Hr, equal to 1.5 were also considered. The diameter to height ratio for the riser
was obtained from practical estimations, which ensured a high pressure being applied to
it to allow the metal to flow from the riser to the part; that is, the appropriate slenderness
 Prediction of the effectiveness of the feeding system 33

for the riser must be established (Morales and Villate, 1963). Other possibilities can be
proven following Bishop-Pellini’s method (Bishop et al., 1953). The joint riser-piece was
designed as a necking cylinder whose dimensions, d and h, were established following
traditional criteria, equation (3) and equation (4), respectively. The neck allowed the riser
to join to the bar. It was designed to avoid not only an excessively massive joint, but to
also facilitate its separation from the bar once the demoulding operation was carried out.
Figure 2 depicts the dimensions of risers according to the above-mentioned
considerations.

Figure 2 Dimensions for cylindrical risers

M r = 1.2 × M p (2)

d ≥ 0.40 ⋅ D (3)
0.14 ⋅ d < h < 0.18 ⋅ d (4)
The length of the part that each riser may feed implies having to use three risers if
practical experience is to be observed for bars. The feeding length condition is related to
the riser’s effective action length, to the directional solidification that exists due to the
end effect on the bar, and is in accordance with the Pellini rules (Bishop et al., 1951;
Morales and Villate, 1963). Thus the action length between the axes of two adjacent
risers is considered to be 346 mm; that is, 226 mm between risers. The distance to the last
riser’s axis from the extreme of the bar is assumed to be 318 mm, or 258 mm to the
riser’s lateral side (see Figure3). Thus the end effect, LE, is 145 mm.
As it is well-known, the metal contained in risers must suffice to feed the volume
contraction of the piece, Vcp. According to Campbell (2003), the volume change, β, is
3.16% for steel and the efficiency of cylindrical risers, ζ, is 14%. It was proven that
according to these considerations, the net metal contained in three risers was enough,
according to equation (5), to feed the metal volume contraction. In this expression, Nr is
the number of risers, Vr is the volume of each riser, and Vp is the volume of the part.
ζ β
N r × Vr × > (V p + N r ⋅ Vr ) (5)
100 100
34 V. Miguel-Eguía et al.

Figure 3 Feeding distance for normal risers (see online version for colours)

Source: Morales and Villate (1963)

2.3 Designing the moulding system.

According to the bar dimensions, the filling and risering systems, a mould of the
dimensions indicated in Figure 4 was considered.

Figure 4 Moulding system design (see online version for colours)

 Prediction of the effectiveness of the feeding system 35

2.4 Simulating sand casting with Vulcan

Vulcan enables the user to carry out the following simulations: mould-filling analysis,
thermal analysis and, coupled thermo-mechanical or stress analysis (Quantech ATZ S.A.,
2007). This helps predict temperature loss, turbulence, solidification during filling, filling
time, air gap creation and non-filled sections, temperature distribution of permanent
moulds, heating permanent moulds, solidification time, temperature evolution during
solidification, macro and micro effects (density variations, etc.), shrinkage and porosity
prediction, residual stress and strain distribution after solidification, and the final
deformed shape after solidification. The Vulcan Flow Solver is a finite element code
for the numerical simulation of mould-filling processes. It solves the incompressible
Navier-Stokes equations for thermally coupled turbulent flows in the presence of an
interface by separating the analysed fluid and air. Vulcan Flow Solver uses a fixed mesh
approach called the Level Set method. Fixed mesh methods generally share two basic
steps. Firstly, the motion in both phases is found as the solution of the two fluid
Navier-Stokes equations. Then an equation for an interface function is solved. This
equation allows us to determine the position of the interface and, thus, the properties to
be assigned in the previous step (Quantech ATZ S.A., 2005).
Simulation with VULCAN implies generating an ‘igs’ file with the geometrical data
of the part, filling and feeding systems. Once VULCAN has opened the ‘igs’ file, some
checking operations must be run to ensure the correct processing of the part. At times,
some changes must be made to the drawing by either Computer-Aided Design software
or by VULCAN. Afterwards, different volumes must be defined and created in VULCAN
to establish the filling system, the risering system (‘feeding’ in VULCAN), the mould
and the part. The following step is to define the input data for the materials of the
different parts (Manjabacas and Miguel, 2012).
In this case, a baked sand mould was considered and the selected pouring temperature
was 1,627°C. Steel density, the thermal conductivity for the materials involved in the
system (steel and baked sand), and the corresponding specific heats and mechanical
properties, must be defined as functions of temperature. VULCAN also provides a
database with the properties of the materials. A baked sand mould was selected, whose
properties are indicated in Table 1.
Table 1 Properties of the sand mould

Density Specific heat Conductivity Thermal Elastic modulus Poisson

(kg/m3) (J/kg K) (W/mK) dilatance K–1 (MPa) ratio
1,550–1,390 770–1,160 0.585–1.06 4 10–6–6 10–6 150 0.3
Note: Variability of values is considered from low to high representative temperatures.
For the part, steel AISI 1008 was chosen, whose properties are indicated in Table 2.
Table 2 Properties of the part (AISI 1008 steel)

Density Dynamic Specific heat Latent heat Conductivity Thermal Elas. mod.
(kg/m3) viscosity (Pa s) (J/kg K) (J/kg) (W/mK) dilatance K–1 (MPa)
7,860– 0.06 470–908 270 103 59–27 1.33 105–3.35 2.176 105
6,920 105 –500
Note: Variability of values is considered from low to high representative temperatures.
36 V. Miguel-Eguía et al.

Finally, all the parts have to be meshed. Mesh sizes were larger for volumes than for
surfaces so that good precision was maintained without prolonging computing times. In
this context, large mesh sizes must be chosen for the mould as the results relating to it are
negligible. The different employed mesh sizes and restrained spaces, such as corners and
holes, sometimes mean that it is necessary to collapse points in nudes to avoid
interrupting mesh continuity.
The main simulation input is information about the filling operation. Filling time,
velocity of the metal at the mould entrance or sprue height can be chosen. The criterion
herein considered was to establish a filling time of 15 s according to the before
mentioned.

2.5 Experimental planning.

To compare the empirical solution with the simulation results, different positions of risers
were simulated. Such action took two directions: the separation length between risers and
the distance between the end of the bar and the adjacent riser to this part. In this way, the
length to which the first riser is placed varies, which allows us to evaluate the filling
system’s feeding action. Table 3 summarises the different simulation experiments carried
out.
Table 3 Definition of parameters for the simulation experiments (see online version
for colours)

Distance Distance Last

gate-riser 1 L1 riser-riser L distance
(mm) (mm) L2 (mm)
Experiment 1 295 226 193
Experiment 2 276 226 212
Experiment 3 256 226 232
Empirical solution 230 226 258
Experiment 4 204 226 305
Experiment 5 183 226 322
Experiment 6 166 226 262
Experiment 7 402 140 258
Experiment 8 352 165 258
Experiment 9 302 190 258
Experiment 10 162 260 258
Experiment 11 102 290 258
Experiment 12 62 310 258

To evaluate the action of a riser, the solid fraction criterion is selected. When the melt
state is mushy, the solid fraction indicates what percentage of volume is already solid.
For the solid fraction value to be higher than 0.75, the liquid metal in the small liquid
channels of solidified dendrites cannot flow through them (ASM Metals Handbook,
1998). Thus a solid fraction value of 0.75 can be considered to be the limit of the liquid
flow to feed the contraction of adjacent zones. If a liquid area is isolated between zones
with a solid fraction larger than 0.75, that area will present porosity. Figure 5 illustrates
 Prediction of the effectiveness of the feeding system 37

the evolution of the solid fraction value for the solidification of the bar. The mould
system parameters and dimensions correspond to the empirically calculated ones. The
dark area corresponds to solid fraction values below 0.75. As the solidification process
continues, the size of the area with the 0.75 solid fraction values diminishes until all the
metal in the mould cavity solidifies. The metal contraction of the mushy areas in
solidification must be fed by the adjacent zones of the piece. Finally, the last
solidification areas must be fed by risers. If an isolated mushy area exists, the risk of
porosity in it will exist. This is not the case that we present here, except for two small
points located between the last riser and the end of the bar.

Figure 5 Solid fraction evolution during solidification; empirical moulding conditions; reference
value of 0.75 (see online version for colours)

3 Results and discussion

Figure 6 depicts the distribution of the velocity vectors during mould filling. As
observed, the velocity values are below 0.5 ms–1. This is adequate for avoiding turbulent
entrainment of the surface film on the liquid as the maximum meniscus velocity is
approximately 0.5 ms–1 for most liquid metals (Campbell, 2004).

Figure 6 Filling velocity vectors distribution (see online version for colours)
38 V. Miguel-Eguía et al.

Figure 7 depicts the temperatures field immediately after all the metal filled the mould
cavity. As expected, the coldest metal is at the end of the mould cavity and in the part
above the horizontal plane of the gates. The coldest metal temperature was above
1,500°C, thus no zone of the part solidifies before the mould cavity is completely filled;
that is, all the metal in the mould cavity remains in a liquid form during the filling
operation.

Figure 7 Temperatures field in the moulding metal at the end of the filling operation (see online
version for colours)

Figure 8 Solid fraction that corresponds to simulation experiments for variable lengths of risering
from the end of the piece (see online version for colours)
 Prediction of the effectiveness of the feeding system 39

Figure 8 depicts the critical solid fraction situation for the experiments in which the
length between risers, L, is constant and the distance between the last riser and the end of
the bar increases; that is, experiments 1–6 and the empirical solution. As observed, the
empirical solution for the end effect of the last part of the bar indicates the onset of the
defects and longer distances (experiments 5–7), and leads to unsound pieces as isolated
non-solid areas exist in this part of the piece.
As the distance between risers is constant, the length on which the first riser is
situated shortens with the experiment number. We observe not any feeding action of the
filling system. Only when the distance to the first riser is short, a sound part can be
obtained. It can be stated that this area presents a directional solidification effect, but
minor than the corresponding to the end of the bar.
Figure 9 offers the results that correspond to experiments 7–12 and the empirical
solution. As indicated in Table 1 the larger the number of experiments, the longer the
distance between risers. As we can see, the empirical solution is adequate. For a longer
distance of risers, porosity may appear in the part of the piece between risers 1 and 2. The
distance between risers 2 and 3 does not seem to have any influence and all the
experiments present a sound part in that area. After the end of the bar, the area between
risers 2 and 3 is the coldest once the mould is full, and this aspect can explain the
following result; the directional solidification in this area has a huge impact. Logically,
the behaviour displayed by the part between the gate and the first riser is in accordance
with the aforementioned effect.

Figure 9 Solid fraction that corresponds to simulation experiments for variable distances between
risers (see online version for colours)

Exp. 7

Exp. 8

Exp. 9

Empirical

Exp. 10

Exp. 11

Exp. 12
40 V. Miguel-Eguía et al.

4 Conclusions

In this work, a traditional feeding system design and its effectiveness from the simulation
viewpoint were analysed. Classical design criteria were adopted to calculate the filling
and feeding systems for sand casting a large bar. These criteria are based on empirical
formulations and have been established as a group of simple rules. The obtained results
were simulated to evaluate the feeding system’s effectiveness by adopting the solid
fraction criterion. To this end, different distances between risers and end-part lengths
were submitted to simulation. The results indicate total agreement between the empirical
solution and the simulation. Onset of porosity takes place immediately for a longer
distance at the end of the bar than the end effect that corresponds to the empirical
solution. The feeding action that corresponds to the empirical rule allows us to optimise
the distance between risers, although longer distances are allowed for the coldest part of
the piece. Simulation suggests that directional solidification permits longer distances
between the risers located in the coldest areas of simple pieces. The empirical method
provides the optimum solution for other hotter areas of the piece.
The filling system has no influence on the solidification of the first area of the piece.
This result was expected because of its scarcely massive nature and, therefore, its low
thermal modulus. This part can be considered a special end effect, with a longer distance
covered by directional solidification compared to the end part of the bar. This
circumstance can be explained by the relative temperature in this area: the metal at the
beginning of the mould remains hotter once the metal fills the mould; that is, the last
metal to enter the mould is the hottest.
The results presented herein provide a better understanding of sand casting processes
and of analysing simulation results with a view to improving solutions to obtain sound
parts. In this context, the possibility of using casting simulation as a virtual foundry
laboratory is highlighted.

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