Casting:

Fundamentals and Design

Contents
Foundry furnaces.
Solidification fundamentals.
Casting design

Foundry Furnaces

Electric arc furnace

Steel shell
Refractory bricks

T ~ 1800 C, Capacity: 1 to 100 tons

Metal: Furnace pouring ladle casting

Induction furnace
(copper)

Joule

heating by eddy currents melts metal.

Circulation of metal by electromagnetic forces.
Good mixing
Capacity: Up to 65 tons.
Levitation melting
Magnetic suspension & induction heating.
No crucible.
No contamination.

Solidification Fundamentals

Pure Metal
Cooling curve
Pouring
Temperature

a
L
T

Melting
Point

ab: Superheat; bc: Undercooling

Cooling Rate: Slope of T vs. t

Solidification
Nucleation and Growth
Grain boundary
Lattice mismatch
Full of defects
Small grains Y, UTS

Single crystal
creep strength
Turbine blades
Lattice:

Simple cubic

BCC

FCC

Crystalline vs. Amorphous

HCP

Nucleation
Formation of tiny stable solid particles from
liquid (200 atoms of ~ 10 nm dia.).
Surface energy required to create SLI
(solid-liquid interface).
Undercooling provides energy for creation
of SLI.
Larger the extent of undercooling, greater
will be the number of nuclei formed.

 Two types of nucleation

Heterogeneous
Nuclei form on a solid surface (wall of the mold,
particulates in the fluid).
Heterogeneous nucleation easier to occur
See where ice formation starts in the ice tray.
Seeding to form clouds, precipitation.

Homogeneous
Nuclei form on their own.
Occurs automatically in water below -36 C.
Greater undercooling.

Growth
Nuclei grow and then aggregate
Occurs as heat of fusion is extracted from
liquid
Direction and rate of growth can be
controlled by the manner of heat removal
Directional solidification
Movement of S/L interface opposite to the direction
of heat flow.
Higher strength in the direction of growth.

Directional solidification
molten metal
solid
Heat flow

Alloys
A

B
C

t
A = Pouring Temperature; B = Liquidus temperature (T L)
C = Solidus Temperature (TS)
BC = Both solid and liquid are present (Mushy zone)

Phase diagram
Cu Ni alloy

Kinetics (Ds = 10-14 m2/s)

Cooling rate and coring.
Compositional inhomogeniety

Metal Solidification

Alloy Solidification
L
S

L
Heat

Heat

~ m

L
S

L
Dendrite

Effect of cooling rate

Slow cooling rate (102 K/s) results in
Coarser grain size
Coarser dendritic structure with large spacing

Faster cooling rate (104 K/s) leads to finer

dendrites and grains

Cast Structure

Columnar: Directional properties

Equiaxed: Isotropic properties

Chilled zone
Narrow band of fine, small, randomly
oriented crystals on mold/casting interface
Rapid nucleation because of fast initial
cooling rate. Crystals grow randomly

Columnar zone
Crystals tend to grow in all directions
Preferred growth direction is opposite to
the direction of heat flow
Crystals grow faster in the preferred
direction. Shut off crystal growth in other
directions.
Highly directional property

Equiaxed zone
Cooling rate decreases significantly
towards the centre
No preferred direction of growth
Leads to randomly oriented spherical
crystals
Inner zone of equiaxed grains can be
extended throughout the casting by
adding nucleating agents such as Na, Mg,
Bi

FFT
Equiaxed grains favourable in metal or
sand mold?
Is directional solidification desirable for
riser design for eliminating shrinkage
voids?

FFT
Compare structure and strength of similar
castings made in metal and sand molds
Compare structure and strength of similar
castings made in sand molds with varying
moisture content
See Fig. 11.20 in Kalpakjian

Shrinkage
Three principal stages
Shrinkage of the liquid (not a problem)
Solidification shrinkage (LS)
Solid metal contraction

Solid metal contraction

Is maximum of the three

Also called pattern makers contraction
Allowance should be made in pattern design
Can cause defects if collapsibility poor
Eject hot castings in metal molds

Material

% in volume

Al

6.6

Cu

4.9

Low C steel

2.5 3.0

High C steel

4.0

Gray cast iron

-1.9

Gating System Design

Fluidity, turbulence.
Tapered sprue, inclusions, ceramic pouring cups
Equalizing flow through gates?

Fluidity
Opposite of viscosity: with T.
Sprue Design
Cylindrical Vs. Tapered geometry
Cylindrical sprue: Vortex formation, sucks gas

Sprue well
Dissipates kinetic energy of falling stream

Runner Extensions and Runner Wells

Catch and trap first metal containing dross and
inclusions. Prevent it from entering mold cavity
Equalizing flow through gates
Turbulence mold/core erosion and gas entrainment

Directional Solidification
Solidification that occurs from farthest end of the casting
and works its way towards the sprue. Importance

Chorinovs rule

Chorinovs Rule
Predicts time for solidification of casting

V
t S B
A

n = 1.5 2.0
V = Casting volume ( total heat content)
A = Surface area of casting ( rate of heat
loss)

B = Molding constant, depends on

, CP, LF of metal being cast
, k, CP, of mold material
Mold thickness
Amount of superheat
Geometry of casting?

FFT
Devise an experiment to determine B, n for
a particular casting geometry or a series of
casting

Design implications of Chorinovs rule

Solidification time vs. Casting geometry
Large sphere solidifies slower than smaller
sphere
Cube will solidify faster than sphere of same
volume
Thinner sections solidify faster

Riser design
Riser material should solidify in the end

Size of riser
Riser placement

 Important in designing gating system, for

example the position of ingates in complex
castings. Why?
Shows that section changes should be
smoothly blended

Shrinkage cavity
because of slow
cooling rate

In above casting, need gradual transition at the elbow

Problems with Molten Metals/Alloys

Dissolved gases
Hydrogen solubility in Al at melting point
Liquid: 0.7 ml/100 g Al
Solid: 0.03 ml/100 g Al

If gas bubbles cannot float out during

solidification
Get trapped and generate porosity
Affects casting quality

Remedies
Vacuum degassing
Flushing with inert gas

Inclusions
Molten metal reacts with dissolved gases
such as oxygen to form fine particles (in
the m range)
If dissolved gas content is high, inclusions will
aggregate.
Float on top and form a dross or slag layer.
Should be skimmed off to prevent entrapment
in casting

Eroded lining materials from furnace,

pouring ladles etc.