“HOT TOPICS”

Issue # 8, 2003

Casting Defect: Cavities - Blowholes

1. Defect codes - includes B111, B112, B113, B121 DI (Ductile iron)

2. Name: Blowholes; blowholes from inserts, chaplets, chills, etc.; surface or

subsurface blowholes and slag blowholes.

3. Description:
Essentially smooth walled cavities of various dimensions created by gas. These
may or may not be open to the surface. They may be an isolated single cavity or
many smaller ones grouped near the source of the gas, such as located by a chill
or a chaplet or may contain slag residue. Subsurface cavities may show as shiny
spots on the cast surface after shakeout or after blasting. These defects can appear
anywhere on a casting, except on drag surfaces and sometimes are associated with
shrinkage defects.

4. Pictures are at the end of this document.

5. Mechanism of defect formation

These defects occur during and after mold filling as gases produced/given off by
mold or core additives/binders and slag are entrapped and at the latter stages of
solidification as dissolved gases are rejected from the liquid metal. The blowhole
will be formed when the gas pressure exceeds the metal pressure in a localized
area. The primary gases associated with blowholes are CO, CO2, H, and N. If the
casting has developed a thick enough skin gases will be trapped in the subsurface.
Magnesium treatment causes an increase in surface tension of the metal allowing
gases to be trapped more readily.

6. All possible causes

Ø Design / pattern equipment

• Lack of venting and vent locations
• Metal entering into vents because of poor core fit and lack of sealing
• Poor design of gating system / slow pouring /metal turbulence, lack of
slag removal.
• Short risers, not enough metal pressure
• Excess temperature loss in gating systems due to long and narrow runners
and gates
• Insufficient space between mold cavity and flask walls & bars.
• Pouring metal against large flat & hard surfaces.

Jim Mullins – Mullins Professional Services & Al Alagarsamy – Citation Corporation

 Ø Process
• Molding Sand – high moisture, low permeability, clay balls, poor mixing,
and incorrect volatile content in green sand.
• Too high a moisture for the clay level and compactability
• Excessive binders, high LOI content, un-dried coatings, uncured resins in
no-bake sand and cores.
• Blocked or metal-capped vents.
• Wet or rusty chaplets, chills or inserts.
• Excessive gases dissolved in metal
• Excessive oxygen (rusty scrap), hydrogen due to excess aluminum and
titanium in metal, or excess nitrogen.
• Cold metal temperatures and wet refractories.
• Interrupted pouring, slow pouring, too high or too low temperatures
• Short poured molds
• Refractories not dried properly
• Too high CE or carbon

7. Most probable causes

• Excessive gas producing materials in metallic charge.
• Excess binder in core and/or molding sand.
• Slow pouring and colder metal – lack of fluidity.
• Vents missing or not working in cores and molds.
• Low carbon or carbon equivalent.
• Lack of metal filtration and/ or slag removal.

8. Process variables that should be controlled to avoid the defect

• Check and maintain correct pouring temperature for casting.
• Control sand additives and mixing.
• Have a fixed gating system, which minimizes variation in pouring rates and
slag admission.
• Control metallic scrap

References:

AFS Casting Defects Handbook, 1984.

International Atlas of Casting Defects, AFS, 1993.

2
Blow defects due to very high carbon content

Blow defect above green sand pocket –excess moisture and slow pouring

3
Cold and dirty chill causing blow holes.