Foundry Engineering - II

Lab Report # 2
Submitted to
Dr. Atif Makhdoom Shb

Submitted by
Shahzad Ahmed
Roll No
17MME-S1-308
Semester
(5th Semester)
Date
Feb 26, 2020
Department
Metallurgy and Material Engineering
University of The Punjab

1
Experiment # 2
Casting of aluminium ingot with available scrap
Introduction
The third most abundant element in the crust of earth is aluminum. Oxygen and
silicon are first two consectively. In outer portion of earth it occurs as alumino silicate minerals
found in the rocks. It is light weight metal with density 2.7 g/cm3. It becomes soft at 100 - 150℃.
It melts at 660℃. Al2O3 layer on the surface of Al is very useful. By electrolysis process this
thickness can be increased. It is very useful and the process is called as anodizing. It is not affected
in the dry air but in moist air this Al2O3 layer protects it from furthur attack. [1]
Casting of aluminium is not much old. Its practical use at low cost was available after Hall’s
invention. Due to its high mechanical properties like hardness, strength it has wide range of
application. Its mechaning is also easy but high cost limits its use. [2]
Some typical use of aluminum are:
 Due to its high strength it is extensively used in transport industry, in the construction of
aircraft, ships and cars.
 It is non- megnatic and thus used in navigational equipments.
 Due to to its high reducing property it is used in chemical and steel industry.
 It is non – toxic and can be used for making food and brewing equipments and in packaging.
 It is also found in the form of cooking utensils, window frames and kitchen foils. [1]

Objective
To observe how simple casting is done. How degaser & flux are added and how
they work during casting.
Principle
Melting of aluminium scrap in furnace, use of degaser and flux at appropriate time
( during melting), pouring of metal inside mold was the basic principle.
Materials required
Aluminium scrap, furnace ( gas furnace ), molding box ( with all of its
componets like sand, additives and gating system ) , degaser ( hexachloroethane) , flux ( cover all
), crucible, ladle and plunger
Procedure
Molding box was prepared along with its gating system. Aluminum scrap (bar) was taken
in a crucible. It was placed in gas furnace for about 15 minutes. Melting temperature of aluminium
is arround 660 ℃ but due to presence of impurities, it melted at around 720 ℃. Thermocouple was
used to find temperature of furnace. During melting, flux ( coverall ) was added to prevent

2
formation of oxide ( aluminum oxide ). Flux helped in formation of slag, which was skeamed off
from top of melt. Degaser (hexachloroethane) was also added to aid removal of entraped gases.
Degaser was pressed to bottom of melt with the help of plunger. After degasing, metal was taken
out in ladle. It was poured in cavity formed by pattern. After solidification, extra sand was removed
and mechaning was done to get desired product. As shown in fig 4.
Precautions
 Make sure the use of safety instruments
 Beaware of gases because they are harmful like CO
 Keep yourself at a safe distance from furnace and molten metal during pouring
Pictures
Following pictures were captured during process.

Figure 1 Melting of metal inside furnace, Degasing with the help of plunger

3
Figure 2 Mold prepared for casting

Figure 3 Removal of gases from mold

4
Figure 4 Final product after casting
Results
The final product was prepared by follwoing above procedure.
Discussion & conclusion
From fig 4, it can be seen that there were some defects in casting i-e casting was not purely
plain. It may occur due to sudden cooling of metal or may be its cavity ( formed by pattern ) was
not perfect or may be due to some unknown reasons. However this practical helps in understanding
the basic of casting and use of flux & degaser.

References
1. Handbook of chemistry, grade 12, by Ch. Sana Ullah and M.D. Nasim, page 81 -83
2. Principle of metal casting by Philip C Ronsenthal, Page number 259 -260