RTFI Q&E (CTMS 308196) PARTICIPANT INFORMATION CASTINGS (CONT'D) Casting Discontinuities Porosity is caused by trapped gas as the casting cools. The gas can be caused from the molten metal or from the mold itself. Porosity in a casting appears similar to porosity in welds Gas holes or blow holes are a more serious type of discontinuity than porosity. Blow holes are also formed by trapped gas but are much larger than ordinary porosity. Sand inclusions are pieces of sand in a casting that have broken off from the sand mold. On a radiograph, they resemble a pocket of sand with a granular appearance, if the radiograph has the proper sensitivity. Slag inclusions are impurities in a casting from either the mold or from the molten metal. Slag inclusions in castings appear on a radiograph similar to slag inclusions in welds. Hot tears are a form of a crack in a casting that occurs in transition areas of different thickness. Hot tears are caused by stress introduced by uneven cooling from areas of different thickness. Cold shuts are formed in a casting where two different areas have cooled separately and the metal is not fused together. It is similar to lack of fusion in welds. Cold shuts are not easily detected by radiography unless they are oriented perpendicular to the radiation beam. Core shift in a casting occurs when the core which is inserted in the mold to create a cavity, eg, the bore of a valve, has moved