Archives of Foundry Engineering

The results of testing the strength properties of experimental ceramic materials containing spending moulding sand after initial mechanical reclamation as a material for subsequent layers of the stucco composition were presented. Tests were carried out on spent moulding sands from various foundry technologies, i.e. sand with furfuryl resin and sand with hydrated sodium silicate. The spent, agglomerated moulding sand has undergone a crushing process. Next, the required granular fractions used for individual layers of the stucco material were separated. Ceramic samples, in which the spent moulding sand was a substitute for fresh silica sand in successive layers of the stucco composition, were prepared. As a reference material, identical ceramic samples were used but with all layers made from the fresh silica sand. Samples prepared in this way were used to determine the bending strength of ceramic materials in the temperature range from 20 to 900ºC. The obtained values of the bending strength have demonstrated that spent moulding sand can be used in investment casting with no adverse effect on the strength of ceramic materials.

The paper consists the problem of developing a scientific toolkit allowing to predict the thermal state of the ingot during its formation in all elements of the casting and rolling complex, between the crystallizer of the continuous casting machine and exit from the furnace. As the toolkit for the decision making task the predictive mathematical model of the ingot temperature field is proposed. Displacement between the various elements of the CRC is accounted for by changing the boundary conditions. Mass-average enthalpy is proposed as a characteristic of ingot cross-section temperature state. The next methods of solving a number of important problems with the use of medium mass enthalpy are developed: determination of the necessary heat capacity of ingots after the continuous casting machine for direct rolling without heating; determination of the rational time of alignment of the temperature field of ingots having sufficient heat capacity for rolling after casting; determination of the total amount of heat (heat capacity) required to supply the metal for heating ingots that have insufficient amount of internal heat.

This article deals with the effect of manganese that is the most applied element to eliminate the negative effect of iron in the investigated alloy AlSi7Mg0.3. In this time are several methods that are used for elimination harmful effect of iron. The most used method is elimination by applying the additive elements, so-called iron correctors. The influence of manganese on the morphology of excluded ironbased intermetallic phases was analysed at various iron contents (0.4; 0.8 and 1.2 wt. %). The effect of manganese was assessed in additions of 0.1; 0.2; 0.4 and 0.6 wt. % Mn. The morphology of iron intermetallic phases was assessed using electron microscopy (SEM) and EDX analysis. The increase of iron content in investigated alloys caused the formation of more intermetallic phases and this effect has been more significant with higher concentrations of manganese. The measurements carried out also showed that alloys with the same Mn/Fe ratio can manifest different structures and characteristics of excluded iron-based intermetallic phases, which might, at the same time, be related to different resulting mechanical properties.

In this paper results of microstructural observations for series of CuZn39Pb2 alloys produced from qualified scraps are presented. The individual alloy melts were differentiated in terms of thermal parameters of continuous casting as well as refining methods and modifications. Structural observations performed by SEM and TEM revealed formation of different types of intermetallic phases including “hard particles”. EDS results show that “hard particles” are enrich in silicon, phosphorus, iron, chromium and nickel elements. Additionally, formation of Al-Fe-Si and Al-Cr in alloy melts was observed as well. It was found that quantity and morphology of intermetallic phases strongly depends upon the chemical composition of raw materials, process parameters, modifiers and refining procedure applied during casting. It was observed that refining process results in very effective refinement of intermetallic phases, whereas modifiers, particularly carbon-based, results in formation of large particles in the microstructure.

Analysis of the use of the Russian materials (liquid glass and softening additives) has been made in accordance with the modern requirements for use in the technological processes of casting as binding materials in the production of large-sized steel railway casting. The reasons for poor knockout of liquid glass mixtures have been investigated. A complex action softening additive has been recommended for a better knocking-out ability. This solution provides a softening effect at the points of maximum formation of the liquid glass matrix strength in the processes of polymorphic transformation of the material under the influence of elevated temperatures as the result of filling the mold cavity by the melt. It has been shown that the use of additives of complex action leads to the decrease in the specific work of the knockout by four – seven times depending on the composition of the mixture and the design features of the casting. Experimental-industrial tests of the proposed method for softening the liquid glass mixtures have been made and the "Front Buffer Stop" casting has been made (for the rolling stock of locomotives and railway wagons). The tests confirmed the effectiveness and expediency of implementation of new liquid glass mixtures with softening additives in conditions of foundry enterprises.

In the present investigation, the morphology of Ti inclusions in high strength tire cord steel was investigated and their precipitation behavior was discussed using a precipitation and growth model. The results show that Ti inclusions mainly exist in the form of TiN. The two-dimensional characterization of Ti inclusions is square-like with sharp edges and corners, while its three-dimensional shape exhibits a cubic or rectangular-prism morphology. The Ti inclusions do not precipitate when the solid fraction of tire cord during solidification is less than 0.987, and their final radius is closely related to the cooling rate and initial concentration product. The higher the cooling speed, the smaller the final radius, when the cooling speed is constant, the final radius of Ti inclusions is mainly determined by the initial concentration product, w[N]0×w[Ti]0. In order to retard the precipitation and growth of Ti inclusions in tire cord steel, the cooling rate and initial concentration product can be taken into consideration.

Main goal of the paper is to present the algorithm serving to solve the heat conduction inverse problem. Authors consider the heat conduction equation with the Riemann-Liouville fractional derivative and with the second and third kind boundary conditions. This type of model with fractional derivative can be used for modelling the heat conduction in porous media. Authors deal with the heat conduction inverse problem, which, in this case, consists in identifying an unknown thermal conductivity coefficient. Measurements of temperature, in selected point of the region, are the input data for investigated inverse problem. Basing on this information, a functional describing the error of approximate solution is created. Minimizing of this functional is necessary to solve the inverse problem. In the presented approach the Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm is used for minimization.

The graphite form in cast iron is the structure parameter deciding on its all physical and mechanical properties. Three basic forms of graphite: flake, vermicular (compact) and nodular (spheroidal) are singled out in standard cast iron grades, without a heat treatment. Standards of individual grades of cast iron the most often allow only the homogeneous graphite form, sometimes with addition of 5÷10% of the other form. The interesting and - in the authors opinion - future-oriented material can constitute cast iron in which various forms of graphite are present, e.g. in comparative amounts: spherical and vermicular cast irons. Cast iron within which graphite occurs in two or three forms was named „Vari-Morph” (VM) cast iron, i.e. the one in which spherical and vermicular or vermicular and flake graphite occur in a wide range of proportions. The results of investigations of these new cast iron grades and their properties are presented in the hereby paper.

Examples of cast grates whose construction was based on previously used "old" patterns of the technological equipment for heat treatment furnaces (TEq) are presented. Manufacturers of this type of castings have at their disposal numerous earlier designs of the applied TEq. Their adaptation for the needs of a new order, i.e. the creation of a new design or modification of the already existing one, significantly reduces both cost and time of the implementation. It also allows making new grate constructions of various shapes and sizes, reducing in this way the number of patterns stored by the manufacturer of castings. The examples of cast grates shown and discussed in this study document the variety of ways that can be used when making them from the already existing patterns or castings. The presented grates were made using master patterns, entire castings or their fragments, and modular segments.

Production of defect free castings requires good understanding of casting characteristics like mold filling ability and volume deficit characteristic. Pin test piece with cylindrical cores proposed by Engler and Ellerbrok was used to study the mold filling ability. Volume deficit characteristics experiments were conducted using the method designed by Engler. Alloy composition, Mold coat and Pouring temperature were considered as process parameters for the present study and experimental plan has been taken up through design of experiments. The alloy composition is most significant in influencing the mold filling ability, where as pouring temperature is for volume deficit. The Correlation Co-efficient value obtained is -0.98901 indicating strong a negative relation between mold filling ability and volume deficit characteristics. Negative values indicate a relationship between mold filling ability and volume deficit such that as values for mold filling ability increase, for volume deficit decrease.

This work presents a scheme for the manufacture of spherical grinding bodies used in grinding and crushing machinery as a grinding medium from abrasion-resistant cast iron CHKH16 (according to GOST 7769-82) free of shrinkage defects produced by casting into single sand molds with a vertical joint and by usingcoolers. The grinding efficiency in terms of material destruction and energy consumption has been studied according to a wide range of operating parameters and new scheme for calculating the sprue and supply system has been developed by the authors of the article. Its functionality has been substantiated, particularly the use of a central riser acting as a head and the use of coolers. The conducted numerical simulation has shown the dependence of a solid phase formation over time, which characterizes the direction of the system crystallization and determines the locations of the shrinkage defects concentration. The manufacture of the grinding body with a 100 mm diameter using the considered technology is presented in this paper.

Throughout the casting process, mold filling plays a very significant role in the casting quality control. It is important to study the effect of gating system design on ingate velocity of the metal which affects the mechanical properties of casting. The effect of varying the design of four gating system elements namely pouring cup, sprue height, runner and ingate design on the multiple responses like tensile strength and percentage elongation is studied using a Taguchi’s L9 OA. The Taguchi technique was coupled with a Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) to obtain a Grey Relational Grade (GRG) for evaluating multiple responses. ANOVA has been applied to identify the significance of different parameters and it was found that the pouring cup design and the runner cross-section along its length collectively contributed above 76% of the total GRG value. Finally, the confirmation tests were performed to validate the predicted optimized results and it established an improvement of 9.90% from the initial design.

The primary microstructure of new Co-based superalloy of Co-20Ni-7Al-7W (at.%) type was showed in this article. The alloy was manufactured by induction melting in vacuum furnaces. This alloy is a part of new group of high-temperature materials based on Co solid solution and strengthened by coherent L12 phase similar to Ni-based superalloys with γʹ phase. The final form of Coss/L12 microstructure is obtained after fully heat treatment included homogenization, solutionizing and aging processes. But first step of heat treatment thermal parameters determination is characterization of primary microstructure of alloys after casting process with special attentions on segregations of alloying elements in solid solution and presences of structural elements such as eutectic areas, and other phases precipitations. In analysed case the relatively high homogeneity of chemical composition was expected especially in the case of W distribution, what was confirmed be SEM/EDS analysis in dendritic and interdendritic areas.

The paper deals with possibility to improve operating performance of cast-iron heat exchangers by providing them with a copper alloy (CuTi2Cr) with the use of the flame spraying method. A test exchanger was cast of a gray cast iron with vermicular graphite in ferriticpearlitic matrix obtained in production conditions at KAW-MET Iron Foundry with the wire method used to vermicularize the material. The test samples were two plates cast in sand molds, of which one was given a flame-sprayed CuTi2Cr coat on one side. The operating performance of such model cast-iron heat exchangers, with and without CuTi2Cr coating, was tested on a set-up for determining the heat flow rate (thermal power) transferred by the heat exchanger to environment. The obtained results indicate that the value of the heat flow rate characterizing the CuTi2Cr-coated cast-iron heat exchanger was by 10% higher compared to the flow rate of heat conveyed to environment by the heat exchanger without coating.

Depending on the course of the processes of heat treatment and thermo-chemical treatment, the technological equipment of heat treatment furnaces is exposed to different operating conditions, as the said processes differ among themselves in the temperature of annealing and atmosphere prevailing in the furnace chamber, in the duration of a single work cycle and in the type and temperature of the coolant. These differences affect the magnitude of stresses occurring in each cycle of the operation of furnace accessories, and thus play an important role in fatigue processes leading to the destruction of these accessories. The kinetics of temperature changes during each cooling process plays an important role in the formation of thermal stresses on the cross-section of the cooled parts. It depends on many factors, including the initial cooling temperature, the type and temperature of the cooling medium, or the dimensions and shape of the object. This article presents a numerical analysis of the effect of the initial temperature on the distribution of stresses on the cross-section of the grate ribs, generated in the first few seconds of the cooling process carried out in two cooling media, i.e. hardening oil and water. The analysis was carried out by the finite element method, based on the results of experimental testes of temperature changes in the rib during its cooling.

This article proposes to use abrasive waterjet cutting (AWJ) for deflashing, deburring and similar finishing operations in casting. The basic requirements concerning the dimensional accuracy and surface texture of cast components are not met if visible surface flaws are detected. The experiments focused on the removal of external flash from elements made of EN-GJL-150 cast iron. The method employed for finishing was abrasive waterjet cutting. The tests were carried out using an APW 2010BB waterjet cutting machine. The form profiles before and after flash removal were determined with a Taylor Hobson PGI 1200 contact profiler. A Nikon AZ100 optical microscope was applied to observe and measure the changes in the flash height and width. The casting surface after finishing was smooth, without characteristic sharp, rough edges that occur in the cutting of objects with a considerable thickness. It should be emphasized that this method does not replace precise cutting operations. Yet, it can be successfully used to finish castings for which lower surface quality is required. An undoubted advantage of waterjet cutting is no effect of high temperature as is the case with plasma, laser or conventional cutting. This process is also easy to automate; one tool is needed to perform different finishing operations in order to obtain the desired dimensions, both internal and external.

Recently, some major changes have occurred in the structure of the European foundry industry, such as a rapid development in the production of castings from compacted graphite iron and light alloys at the expense of limiting the production of steel castings. This created a significant gap in the production of heavy steel castings (exceeding the weight of 30 Mg) for the metallurgical, cement and energy industries. The problem is proper moulding technology for such heavy castings, whose solidification and cooling time may take even several days, exposing the moulding material to a long-term thermal and mechanical load. Owing to their technological properties, sands with organic binders (synthetic resins) are the compositions used most often in industrial practice. Their main advantages include high strength, good collapsibility and knocking out properties, as well as easy mechanical reclamation. The main disadvantage of these sands is their harmful effect on the environment, manifesting itself at various stages of the casting process, especially during mould pouring. This is why new solutions are sought for sands based on organic binders to ensure their high technological properties but at the same time less harmfulness for the environment. This paper discusses the possibility of reducing the harmful effect of sands with furfuryl binders owing to the use of resins with reduced content of free furfuryl alcohol and hardeners with reduced sulphur content. The use of alkyd binder as an alternative to furfuryl binder has also been proposed and possible application of phenol-formaldehyde resins was considered.

Final quality of casts produced in a die casting process represents a correlation of setting of technological parameters of die casting cycle, properties of alloy, construction of a die and structure of gating and of bleeding systems. Suitable structure of a gating system with an appertaining bleeding system of the die can significantly influence mechanical and structural properties of a cast. The submitted paper focuses on influence of position of outfall of an gate into the cast on its selected quality properties. Layout of the test casts in the die was designed to provide filling of a shaping cavity by the melt with diverse character of flowing. Setting of input technological parameters during experiment remained on a constant level. The only variable was the position of the gate. Homogeneity represented by porosity f and ultimate strength Rm were selected to be the assessed representative quality properties of the cast. The tests of the influence upon monitored parameters were realized in two stages. The test gating system was primarily subjected to numerical tests with the utilization of a simulation program NovaFlow&Solid. Consequently, the results were verified by the experimental tests carried out with the physical casts produced during operation. It was proved that diverse placement of the gate in relation to the cast influences the mode of the melt flowing through the shaping cavity which is reflected in the porosity of the casts. The experimental test proved correlation of porosity f of the cast with its ultimate strength Rm. At the end of the paper, the interaction dependencies between the gate position, the mode of filling the die cavity, porosity f and ultimate strength Rm.

What is the limit of improvement the structure obtained directly from the liquid state, with possible heat treatment (supersaturation and aging)? This question was posed by casting engineers who put arbitrary requirements on reducing the DAS (Dendrite Arm Spacing) length to less than a dozen microns. The results of tests related to modification of the surface microstructure of AlSi7Mg alloy casting treated by laser beam and the rapid remelting and solidification of the superficial casting zone, were presented in the paper. The local properties of the surface treated with a laser beam concerns only a thickness ranging from a fraction to a single mm. These local properties should be considered in the aspect of application on surfaces of non-machined castings. Then the excellent surface layer properties can be used. The tests were carried out on the surface of the casting, the surface layer obtained in contact with the metal mould, after the initial machining (several mm), was treated by the laser beam. It turned out that the refinement of the microstructure measured with the DAS value is not available in a different way, i.e. directly by casting. The experimental-simulation validation using the Calcosoft CAFE (Cellular Automaton Finite Element) code was applied.

The thermochemical treatment applied to improve the surface properties of AZ91 consisted in heating the material in contact with AlSi10Mg powder at 445 oC for 30 min. During heat treatment process the powder was held under pressure to facilitate the diffusion of the alloying elements to the substrate and, accordingly, the formation of a modified layer. Two pressures, 1 MPa and 5 MPa, were tested. The resultant layers, containing hard Mg2Si and Mg17Al12 phases, were examined using an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS). The experimental data show that the layer microstructure was dependent on the pressure applied. A thicker, three-zone layer (about 200 μm) was obtained at 1 MPa. At the top, there were Mg2Si phase particles distributed over the Mg17Al12 intermetallic phase matrix. The next zone was a eutectic (Mg17Al12 and a solid solution of Al in Mg) with Mg2Si phase particles embedded in it. Finally, the area closest to the AZ91 substrate was a eutectic not including the Mg2Si phase particles. By contrast, the layer produced at a pressure of 5 MPa had lower thickness of approx. 150 μm and a two-zone structure. Mg2Si phase particles were present in both zones. In the upper zone, Mg2Si phase particles were regularly distributed over the Mg17Al12 intermetallic phase matrix. The lower zone, adjacent to the AZ91, was characterized by a higher volume fraction of Mg2Si phase particles distributed over the matrix composed mainly of Mg17Al12. The alloyed layers enriched with Al and Si had much higher hardness than the AZ91 substrate.