PART 3

METAL CASTING
1. Overview

Section 10.1 ()

2. Principles of metal casting

Section 10.2-10.3 ()

3. Techniques of metal casting

Section 11.1-11.3, 11.5 ()

PART 3
METAL CASTING
1. Overview

What is casting?
Advantages and disadvantages
Open mold vs. closed mold
Permanent mold vs. expendable model
Terminology

2. Principles of metal casting

3. Techniques of metal casting

Casting of Metals
Process in which molten metal flows by gravity or
other force into a mold where it solidifies in the shape
of the mold cavity
Video: how is engine block made by casting
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr4_B9EXWSo)

Advantages of Casting
Complex part geometries (external and internal)
Large parts: Engine blocks, railway wheels, church
bells, statues
Applicable to any alloys, suited to mass production

Sand cast cylinder head with

complex geometry

On May 19, 2009 Siempelkamp poured the worlds

heaviest casting made of cast iron (252 tons) to be the
upper bolster for a straightening press.

Disadvantages of Casting
Limitations on mechanical properties
Poor dimensional accuracy and surface finish for some
processes; e.g., sand casting
Safety hazards to workers due to hot molten metals
Environmental problems

Pores in a casted part

Casted water valve with

rough surface

Worker in Foundary

Open Mold vs. Closed Mold

Contains cavity whose geometry determines part
shape
Two forms of mold: (a) open mold vs. (b) closed mold
closed mold for more complex mold geometry with gating
system leading into the cavity

Expendable Mold vs.

Permanent Mold
1. Expendable mold mold
will be destroyed after
casting in order to take out
casting
Mold materials: sand, plaster,
etc, plus binders

2. Permanent mold mold

will be used repeatedly to
produce many castings
Mostly made of metals
7

Advantages and Disadvantages

Expandable mold
More intricate geometries
Mold non-reusable (mold material reusable)

Permanent mold
Part geometry limited by need to open mold
More economic in high production operations

Sand Casting
Mold
Mold consists of two halves:
Cope = upper half of mold; Drag = bottom half

Flask
Parting line
Mold Cavity
Mold cavity defines external shapes of parts
Mold cavity is formed by packing sand around a pattern

Core in Cavity
Core determines the internal surfaces of casting
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Sand Casting
Mold
Gating System: Channel through which molten metal
flows into the cavity
Pouring cup
Downsprue
Runner

Riser:
Reservoir of liquid metal to compensate for shrinkage of the
part during solidification
Thermal contraction of liquid/solid vs. solidification shrinkage

The riser must be designed to freeze after the main casting in

order to satisfy its function
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Basic Step of Casting

1. Mold cavity is produced having the desired shape
and size of the part
Takes shrinkage into account
Expandable or permanent mold

2. Melting process
Provides molten material at the proper temperature

3. Pouring technique
Molten metal is poured into the mold at a proper rate to
ensure that erosion and or defects are minimized

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Basic Step of Casting

4. Solidification process
Controlled solidification allows the product to have desired
properties

5. Mold removal
The casting is removed from the mold
Expandable molds are broken away from the casting
Permanent molds must be designed so that removal does not damage
the part

6. Cleaning, finishing, and inspection operations

Excess material along parting lines may have to be
machined
12

PART 3
METAL CASTING
1. Overview
2. Principles of metal casting

Heating and melting metal

Pouring metal
Solidification of metal

3. Techniques of metal casting

13

Heating and Melting of Metals

Heating furnaces are

used to heat the metal
to liquid or high-plastic
state
The heat required for
pure metal is:

H total heat required (J)

density (g/cm3)
V volume (cm3)
Cs, Cl solid/liquid specific heat (J/(gC))
Tm, T0, Tp melting, starting, pouring temperature (C)

Temperature curve of heating pure metals

14

Heating and Melting of Metals

Example: A cubic metal ingot of 40cm * 40cm * 40 cm need to be

melted with a superheat of 100 C. The metals density = 7.5 g/cm3,
melting point = 800 C, specific heat = 0.33 J/(gC) for solid and 0.29
J/(gC) for liquid, and heat of fusion = 160 J/g. Please calculate the
heat required for this process.

(Answer: 213,163,200 Joules)

15

Heating and Melting of Metals

Question: How to calculate required heat for alloys?
temperature

time
16

Pouring Molten Metal

Metal must flow into all regions of the mold (what are
they?) before solidifying

Downsprue
Runner
Riser
Cavity

Factors that determine success

Pouring temperature
Pouring rate
Turbulence
17

Pouring Calculation
Bernoullis Equation
Assumptions:

No viscosity for liquid (frictionless)

Steady State
Incompressible
Not heat addition

Formulation in term of pressure

density (g/cm3)
v velocity (cm/s)
g gravitational acceleration
(981 cm/s2)
h height (cm)

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Pouring Calculation
Bernoullis Equation
In term of head

Ignore pressure change and

initial velocity

density (g/cm3)
v velocity (cm/s)
g gravitational acceleration
(981 cm/s2)
h height (cm)

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Pouring Calculation
Applications of

20

Pouring Calculation
Continuity Law: Volume flow rate (Q) is constant

v1

v2
A1

A2

Water speed is increased because the

hose opening is decreased by thumb

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Example

1)
2)
3)

Pouring metal to a downsprue

Volumetric flow rate Q = 3e-2 m3/s
Downsprue total length L = 0.2 m
Top cross-section area A1 = 2e-2 m2
Velocity at top cross-section V1?
Velocity at bottom cross-section V2?
Bottom cross-section area A2 to avoid
air aspiration?
4) Time needed to fill a mold cavity with
the volume of 1 m3?

Answers: 1) 1.5 m/s; 2) 2.05 m/s; 3) 1.46e-2 m2; 4) 33 s.

Downspure

Runner

Cavity

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Solidification of Metals
Transformation of molten metal back into solid state
Solidification takes two steps:
Nucleation
Grain growth

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Nucleation
Stable particles form from the liquid metal
Occurs when there is a net release of energy from
the liquid
Undercooling encourage nucleation
Undercooling: difference between the melting point and the
temperature at which nucleation occurs
What is supercooling/superheating for melting processes?

24

Grain Growth
Each nucleus produces one grain
Internal factor: Given uniform temperature, a grain tends to
grow with symmetric shapes

Snowflake:
2D-hexagonal Envelope

BCC and FCC Metals:

3D-octahedron Envelope

25

High T

Grain Growth

gradient (non-uniform temperature), a

grain tends to grow along the direction of
maximum temperature gradient

Low T

Each nucleus produces one grain

Internal factor:
External factor: Given temperature

Directional solidification of
3 grains with different
crystallographic orientations

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Each nucleus produces one grain

Internal factor:
External factor:
Competitive growth between
different grains

High T
Low T

Grain Growth

Directional solidification of
3 grains with different
crystallographic orientations

video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S07fPo45BvM

27

Solidification of Metals
Cooling curves for pure metals (left) and alloys (right)

28

Solidification of Pure Metals

Typical grain structures:
Nucleation at mold wall due to
chilling effect: randomly oriented
equi-axed grains of small
Competitive growth: large
columnar grains oriented toward
the center of the casting

Rate of freezing depends on

heat transfer out of the mold,
as well as thermal properties
of the metal
What thermal properties matter?

Solidification of Alloys
Typical grain structures:
Nucleation at mold wall due to
chilling effect: randomly oriented
equi-axed grains of small
Competitive growth: large
columnar grains oriented toward
the center of the casting
randomly oriented equi-axed
grains in casting center due to
segregation

Solidification Time
Total solidification time TTS = time required for casting
to solidify after pouring
TTS can be calculated with Chvorinov's Rule

TTS

V
= Cm
A

where TTS = total solidification time (min), V = volume of the casting

(cm3); A = surface area of casting (cm2), n = exponent with typical value
= 2, and Cm is mold constant (unit is min/cm2 if n=2)

31

Solidification Time
Mold constant Cm depends on:
Mold material
Thermal properties of casting metal
Pouring temperature relative to melting point

Value of Cm for a given casting operation can be based

on experimental data from previous operations carried
out using
Same mold material, casting metal, and pouring temperature,
Part shape can be different

32

What Chvorinov's Rule Tells Us

A casting with a higher
volume-to-surface
area ratio cools and
solidifies more slowly
than one with a lower
ratio
TTS for riser must be
(longer? Or shorter?)
than TTS for main
casting? How can we
do that?
33

Shrinkage during
Solidification and Cooling
(0) starting level of molten metal after pouring;
(1) reduction in level caused by liquid contraction during
cooling

34

Shrinkage during
Solidification and Cooling
(2) reduction in height and formation of cavity caused by
solidification shrinkage;
(3) further reduction in volume due to solid thermal
contraction during cooling

35

Solidification - Example
An Aluminum block of 0.2010.201 0.201 m3 needs to be casted.
For Aluminum, Tm = 660 C and Coefficient of thermal expansion
is 24e-6 C-1 for solid.
1) Please determine the geometry of the cavity (liquid thermal
contraction and solidification shrinkage are ignored).
2) Please calculate the volume shrinkage during the solid thermal
contraction.
3) If the mold constant is 3.5 min/cm2, please calculate the total
solidification time.

Answers: 1) 0.204 m; 2) V2/V1 = 1.046; 3) 40.46 mins.

36

PART 3
METAL CASTING
1. Overview
2. Principles of metal casting

Heating and melting metal: required thermal energy

Pouring metal: Bernoullis equation and continuity law
Solidification of metal: nucleation and grain growth,
solidification time, casting shrinkage

3. Techniques of metal casting

Sand Casting
Expendable Casting Processes
Permanent Mold Casting Processes
Casting Quality
37

Overview of
Sand Casting
Casting processes that use molds made with sand

Most widely used casting process

Work for nearly all alloys
Work for all sizes
Production quantities from one to millions

38

Sand Casting Production

Sequence
Production sequence in sand casting, including
pattern-making and mold-making

39

Making the Sand Mold

Procedure:
Packing sand around pattern to form cavity
Separating the mold into two halves and removing the pattern
Check Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szOwGvYO_Tc)

Pattern should contain gating and riser system

Core for internal surfaces
New sand mold needed for each part produced

40

Pattern, Core and Chaplet

(a) Explosive view of mold

(b) Pattern

41

Pattern, Core and Chaplet

Pattern:
Model of the part with slightly larger size
Made of wood, metals, or plastics

Core
Full-scale model of interior surfaces of part
Inserted into mold cavity prior to pouring

Chaplet
Hold core in position in cavity during pouring
Stay in final casting

42

Expendable Mold Processes

Sand Casting
Shell Molding
Vacuum Molding
Expanded Polystyrene Process (lost foam casting)
Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4rk3ZZ1QFU)

Investment Casting
Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMzSS3BnMLs)

Plaster Mold and Ceramic Mold Casting

43

Permanent Mold
Casting Processes
Uses a metal mold constructed of two sections
designed for easy, precise opening and closing
Mold is reused many times
More economic than expendable casting

Mold materials should have higher melting points

than casting materials
Steels or cast irons for low melting point alloys
Refractory materials for casting steel and other high melting
temperature alloys

44

Steps in
Permanent Mold Casting
(1) Mold preheated and coated
(2) Cores inserted, mold closed
(3) Molten metal poured into mold
(4) Mold opened

45

Permanent Mold
Casting Processes
Basic permanent mold casting use gravity force
Die casting use plunger force
Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSyBsdJkQu8)

Centrifugal casting use centrifugal force

Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJGlgSZe4k4&list=PLsz9nXP4ZrY7E_8vzLwjcnVmDLPDnpDou)

46

Additional Steps After

Solidification
Trimming
Removal of sprues, runners, risers, parting-line flash, fins,
chaplets, and any other excess metal from the cast part

Removing the core

Surface cleaning (mostly for sand casting)
Tumbling, air-blasting with coarse sand grit or metal shot,
wire brushing, buffing, and chemical pickling

Inspection (for any defects in casting)

Repair (if required)
Heat treatment (to enhance casting properties)
47

Casting Quality
The defects can be classified as follows:
General defects common to all casting processes

Shrinkage defects:
Gas porosity:
Pouring metal defects:
Hot craking/hot tearing (thermal and mechanical)

Defects related to sand casting process

48

Shrinkage Defects
Shrinkage Cavity: depression in surface or internal void caused by
solidification shrinkage
Micro-porosity: network of small voids throughout the casting,
caused by localized shrinkage at final stage of dendrite growth

Micro-porosity in
inter-dendritic region

49

Gas Porosity
Formation of bubbles within the casting after it has cooled
Caused by the change of dissolvability of gas in liquid/solid metal

Castings with (left) and without (right)

gas porosity

50

Pouring Metal Defects

Misrun: Molten metal solidifies before completely filling mold cavity
Cold shut: Two portions of metal flow together but there is a lack of
fusion due to premature freezing
Cold Shot: Metal splatters during pouring and solid globules form
and become entrapped in casting

51

Hot Cracking / Hot Tearing

Thermal side: non-uniform temperature field cause thermal stress
(and shrinkage generates void in casting, which can be the origin
of cracking)
Mechanical side: material is weaker at high temperature

52

Sand Casting Defects

Gas porosity problems:
sand blow and pinholes

Surface problems:
sand wash, scabs, penetration

Positioning problems:
mold shift, core shift

Mold problem:
mold crack

53

Summary
1. Overview

Advantages/disadvantages, open/closed mold,

expandable/permanent molds, terminology

2. Principles of metal casting

Heating and melting metal: energy calculation

Pouring metal: Bernoullis equation, continuity law
Solidification of metal: nucleation and grain growth, pure
metal vs. alloy, Chvorinov's Rule, Shrinkage

3. Techniques of metal casting

54

Summary
1. Overview
2. Principles of metal casting
3. Techniques of metal casting

Sand Casting: pattern, core, chaplet

Expendable Mold Casting Processes
Permanent Mold Casting Processes
Casting Quality: various defects

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END

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