Introduction to Casting Technology

INNOVATIVE ENTREPRENEURIAL GLOBAL
JABATAN KEJ. BAHAN, PEMBUATAN & INDUSTRI

FAKULTI KEJURUTERAAN MEKANIKAL
INTRODUCTION TO CASTING
TECHNOLOGY
PROF. Dr. MOHD HASBULLAH IDRIS

Dept. of Materials, Manufacturing &
Industrial Eng.

FAKULTI KEJURUTERAAN MEKANIKAL WHAT IS METAL CASTING ?
§ It is a method of shaping
metals
§ The metal is liquefied by
properly heating it in a
suitable furnace
§ The molten metal is then
poured into a prepared
mould cavity where it is
allowed to solidify
JABATAN KEJ. BAHAN, PEMBUATAN & INDUSTRI COMPONENTS IN CASTING

PROCESS
Sand casting
Pattern making Gating Component Process Carbon dioxide
& risering Investment casting
Design Selection Lost foam
Plaster mould
Die cast etc
Tooling
Production
Mould
Production
Induction furnace
Melting Resistance furnace
Pouring Fuel fired
Fettling
Non-destructive
Inspection Destructive
INOVATIVE ENTREPRENEURIAL
GLOBAL

FAKULTI KEJURUTERAAN MEKANIKAL MOULD FEATURES
A typical sand mold showing various features.

THE ADVANTAGES OF THE

METAL CASTING PROCESS
1. Design versatility
2. Alloy range of compatibility
3. Casting size and weight range
4. Production quantities

CLASSIFICATION OF CASTING
PROCESSES
1. Sand Casting Processes

§ Green sand moulding
§ Dry sand moulding
§ CO2/ Sodium Silicate process
§ Shell moulding process
§ Cold Set process
§ Vacuum-sealed process
§ Lost foam process

CLASSIFICATION OF CASTING
PROCESSES (cont.)
2. Refractory Aggregate Processes

§ Ceramic mould
§ Plaster mould
§ Investment Casting/Lost Wax Casting Process

CLASSIFICATION OF
CASTING PROCESSES (cont.)
3. Permanent Mould Processes
§ Die Casting Processes
§ Gravity die casting
§ High pressure die casting
§ Low pressure die casting
§ Squeeze Casting
§ Counter Gravity Casting
§ Centrifugal Casting
§ Continuous Casting

MANIPULATION OF PROPERTIES
BY CASTING PROCESS
GRAINS DURING SOLIDIFICATION
Various stages during solidification of molten metal. Each small square

represents a unit cell. (a) Nucleation of crystals at random sites in the
molten metal. Note that the crystallographic orientation of each site is
different. (b) and (c) Growth of crystals as solidification continues. (d)
Solidified metal, showing individual grains and grain boundaries. Note the
different angles at which neighboring grains meet each other..

The effects of grain size on the yield
The atoms near the strength of a steel at room temperature
boundaries of the
three grains do not
have an equilibrium
spacing or
arrangement
Photomicrograph
of the surface of a
polished and
etched
polycrystalline Hall-Petch Equation:
specimen of an
iron-chromium Strength? Hardness?
alloy
Surface finish? Ductility?

CONTROL OF THE SLIP PROCESS
Further dislocation
movement to right of
point B, it is blocked by
a grain boundry.
If the dislocation at point A moves to the left, it is

blocked by the point defect. If the movement is to the
right, it interacts with the disrupted lattice near the 2nd
dislocation at point B.

SOLIDIFICATION OF PURE
METALS
Development of pipe
cavity and centre-line
shrinkage
When pure metals or nearly pure

metals solidify, they form a solid
skin which progresses inward until
the entire casting is solid.
As the layers of solid build up, the
liquid level drops and a pipe is Temperature distribution showing heat
formed, primarily from flow during unidirectional solidification
solidification shrinkage from a flat mould wall

FAKULTI KEJURUTERAAN MEKANIKAL SOLIDIFICATION OF ALLOYS
1st STAGE: The solidification of a
casting a thin chill layer is formed,
owing to the fact that the temp. of
the mould is considerably lower than
that of the metal. The chill
layer/zone usually has a fine-grained
structure caused by the rapid
cooling and large number of nuclei
which form.
2nd STAGE: Dendrites start to

grow from the inner boundary of
the chill layer toward the thermal
centre of the mould. The resultant
crystals are necessarily elongated 3rd STAGE: As the growing columnar crystals approach the
or columnar under usual interior of the casting, the thermal gradient is diminished by
conditions-in the direction of the the dissipation of superheat. This makes it possible for other
temperature gradient crystals to nucleate at random rather than having to continue
to grow in columnar grains
JABATAN KEJ. BAHAN, PEMBUATAN & INDUSTRI GRAIN STRUCTURE OF CAST

METALS
Columnar zone
When hot molten metal is poured into a

cold mould, the initial rate of heat
extraction is very high. The liquid metal
near the mould wall surface is often
cooled below its freezing point and many
fine equiaxed dendrites form in this
narrow surface zone, termed the chill
zone.
Chilled zone

GRAIN STRUCTURE OF CAST
METALS (CONT)
After the initial thermal shock, those

dendrites oriented most favourably grow
perpendicular to the mould wall to form
elongated or columnar dendrites. Pure
metals, or metal that freeze with a narrow
mushy zone may have only these two types
of grain: chill and columnar.Metal that freeze
with a wider mushy zone tend to nucleate
new grains during late stages of
solidification, in the region where liquid and
solid coexist. These new grains are equiaxed,
and the region termed equiaxed zone.
Equiaxed
zone

GRAIN STRUCTURE OF CAST
METALS (CONT)
Equiaxed structure
For metals e.g cast iron and most non-ferrous

alloys, the mushy zone is sufficiently wide
that columnar zone is seldom observed. Fine
equiaxed grains tend to form throughout the
casting. The addition of grain refiners also
tends to reduce the tendency for columnar
grains to form.
SOLIDIFICATION OF CASTINGS
VOLUMETRIC SHRINKAGE IN CASTINGS.
Shrinkage in 3 distinctly different

steps.
1. Liquid contraction as they cool
from the pouring temperature
to solidification temperature
2. Solidification contraction as
they freeze
3. Solid contraction as the solid
casting cools to room
temperature

VOLUMETRIC SHRINKAGE IN
CASTINGS
The change in specific volume of solidifying and cooling steel


SOLIDIFICATION OF ALLOYS
Solidification of alloy.
a) Extreme upper left corner of the
iron-carbon phase diagram
showing liquidus and solidus of
0.05% carbon steel (Alloy AA’).
b) Temperature distribution in a
solidying 0.05% carbon steel
casting
c) Formation of dendrites in
the mushy zone or dendrite
zone
Liquidus line THE SOLIDIFICATION OF AN ALLOY THROUGH
A SHORT RANGE OF TEMPERATURE
Temperature Distribution Curve Most alloys do not solidify at a single
temperature but through a solidification
range of temperature and affects the
structure of the casting and shrinkage cavities
are distributed
Metals right to T1, completely liquid. Left of
T2, completely solid. In between is a mixture
of solid and liquid
Solidus line
SFR alloys tends to produce

columnar grains and
concentrated shrinkage
Alloy of composition C1 with metal X
and Y
THE SOLIDIFICATION OF AN ALLOY THROUGH
Liquidus line
A LONG RANGE OF TEMPERATURE
Right to T3 is completely liquid. Left to T6 is completely solid
Region at T5 large dendrites have grown &
very little liquid left.
Region at T4 dendrites composition C3 are
growing in liquid of composition C4. Since
these have no particular direction of growth,
they grow in all directions and produce
rounded grains. Long freezing range alloys
which solidify by this mechanism will give an
equiaxed grain structure
Solidus line
Close to temp. T6, difficult for liquid metal to
run into voids created by solidification
shrinkage. Voids are left between the arms of
the dendrites as they finally solidify so that
shrinkage is distributed through out the
casting
LFR alloys tends to produce equiaxed

grains and dispersed shrinkage
THE SOLIDIFICATION OF AN ALLOY THROUGH
AN INTERMEDIATE RANGE OF TEMPERATURE
Solidus line A steep temperature gradient B, occurs during cooling when
the temperature of the outside of the cast metal becomes
Liquidus line
much lower than at the centre.
This happen when the mould extracts
heat rapidly (1) mould materials has
good thermal conductivity (2) casting
cross section is not very large (3) large
difference in in temperature between
solidifying metal and the mould. It
tends to give columnar grains and
concentrated shrinkage.
Shallow temperature gradient when alloy
has high thermal conductivity, such that
centre of the metal is hotter than the
outside, favoured slow cooling
A rim of of sound columnar grains (1) large cross section (2) poor mould
at the outer edge of the casting, conductivity (3) small difference in
equiaxed grains at the centre ,
temperature between solidifying metal
dispersed porosity and moderately
and mould
sized central shrinkage
SOLIDIFICATION TIME
The rate at which growth of the solid occurs during solidification

depends on the cooling rate or rate of heat extraction. The time
required for a simple casting to solidify completely can be
calculated using Chovrinov’s rule;
ts = B ( V/A )2
ts = time required for the casting to solidify
V = the volume of the casting
A = the surface area of the casting in contact with the
mould
B = the mould constant which depends on properties and
initial temperature of the metal and mould
SOLIDIFICATION TIME – AN ANALYSIS
Two castings are produced under identical conditions. One

casting has the dimensions 2 cm X 8 cm X 16 cm, and the
dimensions of the second casting are 3cm X 6cm X 8 cm.
Which casting is stronger?
SOLIDIFICATION TIME
The solidification time affects the size of the dendrites and

dendrites size is characterised by measuring the secondary
dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) ( Fig). The SDAS related to
solidification time by
SDAS = ktsn
n and k are constants depending on the composition of the

metal (Fig). Small secondary dendrite arm spacings are
associated with higher strengths and improved ductility (Fig)
SOLIDIFICATION TIME
Fig. a)The secondary dendrite arm spacing SDAS b)

dendrites in an aluminium alloy (50 X)
SOLIDIFICATION TIME
Fig.: The effect of
solidification time on the
secondary dendrite arm
spacing of copper, zinc and
aluminium
Fig.: The effect of the

secondary arm spacing on the
properties of an aluminium
casting alloy
SOLIDIFICATION DEFECTS
Shrinkage:
Almost all materials are more dense in the solid state than in
the liquid state. During solidification, the material contracts, or
shrinks as much as 7% (Fig)
Bulk of the shrinkage occurs as cavities and if solidification

begins at all surfaces of the casting, or as pipes.
A common technique to solve is through placement of a riser.
The density of selected

metals versus temperature.
Most metals have higher
density as solids than as
liquids and thus contract
during solidification
Material Shrinkage (%)
Aluminium 7.0
Copper 5.1
Magnesium 4.0
Zinc 3.7
Iron 3.4
Lead 2.7
Galium +3.2
Water +8.3
Several types of macro-

shrinkage; unidirectional,
cavity, pipe
Sections through an
aluminium casting
a) no rise is used,
concentrated shrinkage is
present in the thick section
of the casting
b) shrinkage is contained in
the riser, thus producing a
sound casting
Interdendritic shrinkage:
Found when extensive dendritic growth occurs where liquid metal is

unable to flow from a riser through the fine dendritic network to the
solidifying metal. Thus small shrinkage pores are produced
throughout the casting.
It can be reduced through fast cooling; dendrites may be shorter,

permitting liquid to flow through the dendritic network.
Shrinkage
can occur
between
the dendrite
arms
Small
secondary
dendrite arm
spacing
result in
smaller,
more evenly
distributed
shrinkage Interdendritic shrinkage in an
porosity Short primary arms aluminium alloy (80 X)
help avoid
shrinkage
Gas Porosity:
Many metals dissolve a large quantity of gas when they are
liquid. During solidification e.g aluminium solid metal retains a
small fraction of the hydrogen. Excess hydrogen forms bubbles
that may be trapped in the solid metal, producing gas porosity.
The porosity may be spread uniformly throughout the casting
and may be trapped between dendrite arms.
Minimisation of gas porosity can be done by keeping the liquid

temperature low, by adding materials to the liquid to combine
with the gas and form solid, or by assuring the partial pressure of
the gas remains low. This can be achieved by placing the molten
metal in a vacuum chamber or bubbling inert gas through the
metal.
The solubility of hydrogen

gas in aluminium.
Although solid aluminium
contains very little
hydrogen, the amount of
hydrogen that dissolves in
liquid aluminium is large
and increases rapidly with
temperature.
During steel making process oxygen is often

dissolved in liquid steel. During solidification
it combines with carbon as the alloying
element to form CO and trapped in the
casting.
This can be eliminated by adding aluminium
prior to solidification. Al will combines with
O2 producing Al2O3. In addition Al2O3 pins
grain boundaries and preventing grain
growth during high temperature heat
treatments. Killed or fine-grained steel often
displays a deep shrinkage pipe cavity.
By partly deoxidising steels thru’ adding a small amount of
aluminium, a rimmed steel is produced where sufficient CO is
precipitated to off set the solidification shrinkage.
CONTROL of CASTING STRUCTURE
In summary, the aim of controlling solidification is to produce a

casting containing a large number of equiaxed grains. This
permits the casting to have isotropic properties and improved
strength due to grain size strengthening. In addition making the
dendrites as small as possible will improve the strength of the
casting and refines both micro-shrinkage and gas porosity.
CONTROL of CASTING STRUCTURE
In order to obtain the desired structure:

1. assure wide spread nucleation occurs by using appropriate
grain refining or inoculating agents
2. encourage rapid solidification to assure that the secondary
dendrite arm spacing within the grains is very small.
2.1 The solidification for any given metal can be influenced
by the size of the casting, the mould material, and the
casting process.

Introduction to Casting Technology

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Introduction to Casting Technology

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

INNOVATIVE  ENTREPRENEURIAL  GLOBAL

JABATAN KEJ. BAHAN, PEMBUATAN & INDUSTRI

PROF. Dr. MOHD HASBULLAH IDRIS

JABATAN KEJ. BAHAN, PEMBUATAN & INDUSTRI

JABATAN KEJ. BAHAN, PEMBUATAN & INDUSTRI COMPONENTS IN CASTING

JABATAN KEJ. BAHAN, PEMBUATAN & INDUSTRI

A typical sand mold showing various features.

THE ADVANTAGES OF THE

METAL CASTING PROCESS

JABATAN KEJ. BAHAN, PEMBUATAN & INDUSTRI

1. Sand Casting Processes

JABATAN KEJ. BAHAN, PEMBUATAN & INDUSTRI

2. Refractory Aggregate Processes

JABATAN KEJ. BAHAN, PEMBUATAN & INDUSTRI

JABATAN KEJ. BAHAN, PEMBUATAN & INDUSTRI

GRAINS DURING SOLIDIFICATION

Various stages during solidification of molten metal. Each small square

JABATAN KEJ. BAHAN, PEMBUATAN & INDUSTRI

JABATAN KEJ. BAHAN, PEMBUATAN & INDUSTRI

CONTROL OF THE SLIP PROCESS

If the dislocation at point A moves to the left, it is

JABATAN KEJ. BAHAN, PEMBUATAN & INDUSTRI

When pure metals or nearly pure

JABATAN KEJ. BAHAN, PEMBUATAN & INDUSTRI

2nd STAGE: Dendrites start to

JABATAN KEJ. BAHAN, PEMBUATAN & INDUSTRI GRAIN STRUCTURE OF CAST

When hot molten metal is poured into a

JABATAN KEJ. BAHAN, PEMBUATAN & INDUSTRI

After the initial thermal shock, those

JABATAN KEJ. BAHAN, PEMBUATAN & INDUSTRI

For metals e.g cast iron and most non-ferrous

Shrinkage in 3 distinctly different

JABATAN KEJ. BAHAN, PEMBUATAN & INDUSTRI

The change in specific volume of solidifying and cooling steel

JABATAN KEJ. BAHAN, PEMBUATAN & INDUSTRI

SFR alloys tends to produce

LFR alloys tends to produce equiaxed

The rate at which growth of the solid occurs during solidification

Two castings are produced under identical conditions. One

The solidification time affects the size of the dendrites and

n and k are constants depending on the composition of the

Fig. a)The secondary dendrite arm spacing SDAS b)

Fig.: The effect of the

Bulk of the shrinkage occurs as cavities and if solidification

The density of selected

Material Shrinkage (%)

Several types of macro-

Found when extensive dendritic growth occurs where liquid metal is

It can be reduced through fast cooling; dendrites may be shorter,

Minimisation of gas porosity can be done by keeping the liquid

The solubility of hydrogen

During steel making process oxygen is often

In summary, the aim of controlling solidification is to produce a

In order to obtain the desired structure:

You might also like

INNOVATIVE ENTREPRENEURIAL GLOBAL