See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/241738157

Mold Design Optimization for Sand Casting of Complex Geometries Using

Advance Simulation Tools

Article  in  Materials and Manufacturing Processes · July 2012

DOI: 10.1080/10426914.2011.648250

CITATIONS READS
17 2,077

4 authors, including:

Hassan Iqbal Anwar Khalil Sheikh

University of British Columbia - Okanagan King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
9 PUBLICATIONS   29 CITATIONS    114 PUBLICATIONS   1,192 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Muhammad Younas
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
26 PUBLICATIONS   200 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Fouling in Heat Ex changers and Maintenance Strategies View project

Performance evaluation and bench-marking of pipeline integrity management program View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Hassan Iqbal on 18 November 2015.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

This article was downloaded by: [King Fahad University of Petroleum & Minerals], [Anwar Sheikh]
On: 22 February 2013, At: 06:25
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,
37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Materials and Manufacturing Processes

Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/lmmp20

Mold Design Optimization for Sand Casting of Complex

Geometries Using Advance Simulation Tools
a a a a
Hassan Iqbal , Anwar K. Sheikh , AbdulHadi Al-Yousef & M. Younas
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals,
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Accepted author version posted online: 16 Mar 2012.Version of record first published: 24
May 2012.

To cite this article: Hassan Iqbal , Anwar K. Sheikh , AbdulHadi Al-Yousef & M. Younas (2012): Mold Design Optimization for
Sand Casting of Complex Geometries Using Advance Simulation Tools, Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 27:7, 775-785

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10426914.2011.648250

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic
reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to
anyone is expressly forbidden.

The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents
will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should
be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims,
proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in
connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
 Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 27: 775–785, 2012
Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1042-6914 print=1532-2475 online
DOI: 10.1080/10426914.2011.648250

Mold Design Optimization for Sand Casting of Complex

Geometries Using Advance Simulation Tools
Hassan Iqbal, Anwar K. Sheikh, AbdulHadi Al-Yousef, and M. Younas
Downloaded by [King Fahad University of Petroleum & Minerals], [Anwar Sheikh] at 06:25 22 February 2013

Department of Mechanical Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Defects data and design optimization of gating system are a great challenge in casting. Most significant factors contributing to the
volumetric changes and defects are pouring temperature, time, filling pattern, gating system, and casting geometry. The optimized design
of gating system facilitates the smooth filling of the mold without air entrapment, material flow hindrance. Conventionally, the foundry
method includes design calculations, best practices, and the tedious hit-and-trial method to get the optimum design of pattern/mold for
defect-free casting. The design iterations and improvements directly affect the development cost and time, and one of the great challenges
of the foundry method is to reduce this time and cost. The numerical simulation techniques embedded in casting simulation software are a
powerful tool to overcome these challenges. It predicts the factors such as filling pressure, velocity, cooling rate, hot spots, and inside
porosity. This article describes the design, simulation, experimental results, and design improvements for the complex geometries in the sand
casting process. Impeller is selected as test case. The gating system was initially designed by using the text book mathematical relations and
best practices recommendations. To study the predicted results of effected parameters, MAGMASOFT Software was used as a simulation
tool. Three design modifications of mold design were studied. The effect of design including location and size of risers, gates on parameters
such as filling pattern, pressure and velocity, cooling rate, solidification and defects such as air entrapment, hot spot, and porosity were
studied. The predicted results were then compared with experimental data, and an excellent agreement between them was reported. The
article highlighted the effectiveness of simulation to reach an optimal design of mold by passing the costly hit-and-trial conventional practice
in the foundry industry and shows the effectiveness of simulations in time compression of casting pattern/development.

Keywords Air entrapment; Cast alloy; Hot spot; Impeller casting; Numerical simulation; Porosity; Process modification.

INTRODUCTION block casting. They investigated the temperature field,

In today’s world, the rapid change and shorter life
cycle in product design has increased the need of such
solutions, which help to reduce product development
time and cost and to improve productivity.
The design optimization of the casting system such as
gating, choke, sprue, feeder, and riser pouring basin can
be improved through a series of simulations prior to
physical realization of mold and production of quality
castings. Senthilkumar, Ponnambalamb, and Jawahar
[1] investigated the influencingoptimization factor for
controlling pull-down defects in iron castings. The ident-
ified influencing factors were pouring temperature,
carbon equivalent, and gating system. Some of the under-
lying process characteristics, which affect the quality of
casting such as metal filling pressure, velocity,
solidification, hot spot location, stress distribution, and
porosity [2], can be predicted by the simulations.
Fu-Yuan, Jolly, and Campbell [3] used a computational
fluid dynamics (CFD) code, Flow-3D, for the simulation
to eliminate the trial-and-error approach in the designing
of multiple-gate system. They investigated the behavior
of L-junction and gating system. Mi et al. [4] used the
View Cast Simulation tool for the optimization of valve
Received November 13, 2011; Accepted November 15, 2011
Address correspondence to Hassan Iqbal, Department of Mechan-
ical Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals,
Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia; E-mail: hiqbal@kfupm.edu.sa
flow pattern, and stress distribution and also predicted
three kinds of potential defects including cold shut
shrinkage and crack in the casting. They optimized the
structure of the pouring system and temperature distri-
bution during the filling stage and eliminated the defects.
Hu et al. [5] used the ProCast Simulation tool for the
analysis and optimization of solidification simulation
process. Seifeddine, at Jönköping University, [6] used
MAGMASOFT for the simulation of the local variations
in mechanical properties and prediction of the micro-
structure and aluminum cast component produced with
various casting processes. He investigated as-cast and
heat-treated conditions. The simulation of the casting
processes helps to reduce the experimental testing and
provide the best solution of process and material selec-
tions. It makes the design and development process more
cost efficient. Zhang et al. [7] used numerical simulation
for the optimization of A356 aluminumaluminum thin-
walled component with permanent mold, and after
optimization they found no obvious defects such as gas
porosities and shrinkages in the component. The solidifi-
cation process of casting was also discussed. The results
indicate the numerical simulation is an efficient tool for
the design of casting process. Kulkarni and Babu [8]
described ‘‘the development and use of an integrated
system of metamodels and simulation experiments for
managing quality in a continuous casting system. A sys-
tematic procedure was developed to satisfy the necessary

775
 776 H. IQBAL ET AL.

TABLE 1.—Cast product material information.

Dimensions Total Total Shrinkage

Material dia (mm) volume (cm3) weight (Kg) allowances

Aluminum 102 295 0.830 1.05–1.06 factor from

AlCu6Zn4 total volume

in reference [11] was used to calculate the area of gate:

VD
Ac ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ; ð1Þ
t
fr 2g
H
Downloaded by [King Fahad University of Petroleum & Minerals], [Anwar Sheikh] at 06:25 22 February 2013

where b is zero, and VD is the total volume of the

castings, H is the head in the sprue, and fr is 0.2 by con-
FIGURE 1.—Complex geometry impeller (color figure available online). sidering the chart given in [2], and the filling time was 4 s
calculated by Dieterts [12]:
pffiffiffiffiffiffi
process conditions connected to one or more process T ¼ S W; ð2Þ
parameters. The values of these parameters are to be
determined such that all the process conditions are satis- where S is a coefficient that depends on the thickness of
fied simultaneously to ensure that the product will have the casting, and W is the total pouring material weight.
the desired quality. This procedure utilizes a set of meta- The calculation results are summarized in Tables 3
models, simulation experiments, and an index called the and 4. The whole design was based on drag submerged
‘undesirability index’ for quality, which establishes a approach. All notations and design approach is
functional relationship between the input variables or described in Fig. 2. Gate runner design is calculated
process parameters and the quality criteria. This system, according to the chock cross-sectional area AC [11].
when applied to the data pertaining to a case, demon- Two gates system is introduced as shown in Fig. 3 [10, 11].
strated that the methodology developed could be used
to effectively manage product quality.’’ Mathematical Design Underlying the Simulations
Ferguson et al. [18] concluded that ‘‘Physical simula- The velocity of the flow is related to the static press-
tion has developed into an extremely useful and valuable ure; hence, the mechanical energy equation (Bernoulli’s
tool used to study many metallurgical processes, develop equation) for the cross-sectional area at the gates can
new materials, and obtain characteristics of materials in be given as [14]:
real world situations. The benefits include lower product
and process development costs, rapid trouble shooting 1 1
of existing procedures and materials problems, p1 þ q1 v21 þ q1 gh1 ¼ p2 þ q2 v22 þ q2 gh2 þ Dploss;12 ;
2 2
improved materials and materials applications, develop-
ment of new procedures, and reduced energy cost.’’ ð3Þ
In this article, the significance of computerized simula- where p, q, v, g, and h denote static pressure, mass
tion is highlighted. As a test case, the process simulation density, magnitude of the flow velocity, gravity, and
of a moderately complex geometry of an impeller (Fig. 1) the elevation from reference, respectively.
was carried out. Initially the textbook standard method- Furthermore, pressure losses can be described by the
ology of designing mold [9, 10] was done and then it is Darcy–Weisbach Eq. (14) as follows:
optimized by simulation using MAGMASOFT soft-
ware. The ability to track the hot spots, porosity concen- L12 qv2
tration, air entrapment, and stress distribution pattern Dploss ¼ f ; ð4Þ
helps to improve the mold design. d 2
TABLE 2.—Material property of AlCu6Zn4.
METHODOLOGY Material property Value
In this study, the initial casting mold was designed by 3
standard text book equations, best practices, and expertise Density (kg=m ) 2.81 * 103
and standards used in foundry. Later, MAGMASOFT Viscosity (g=mPa s) – above 700 C 1.298
Specific heat (J=kg.K) 963
was used as simulation platform for casting quality predic-
Thermal conductivity (W=m.K) 121
tions and streamlining mold designs [2, 6, 10, 11, and 13] Latent heat (J=kg) 3.89 * 105
to evolve an optimal mold for the product in Fig. 1. Modulus of elasticity (GPa) 71
Shear modulus (GPa) 26
Calculations of Initial Casting System Liquidus temperature ( C) 638
Solidus temperature ( C) 593
The casting material is aluminum (AlSi6Cu4), see Poisson’s ratio 0.33
Tables 1 and 2. Design approach and formulae given
 SAND CASTING OF COMPLEX GEOMETRIES 777
TABLE 3.—Summary of casting system dimensions (theoretically), cm.

AC A1 ¼ A2 ar H h AS AT AB

2.94 1.47 0.61 8.0 2.0 5.9 5.9 2.0

where L1-2, d, and f are the length of the gate between

the cross-sectional areas, the diameter, and the friction
factor, respectively.
The conservation of mass can be obtained by con-
sidering a mass balance over a stationary volume
Downloaded by [King Fahad University of Petroleum & Minerals], [Anwar Sheikh] at 06:25 22 February 2013

through which the fluid is flowing. This is called the

Eulerian approach and can be expressed as [14]:
FIGURE 2.—Mold design.
Dm X
¼ mi : ð5Þ
Dt i by the mold and the core material, cast metal, and their
physical and thermal properties in liquid state and solid
From the mass conservation equation, the continuity state.
equation can be simplified and given for both compress-
ible and incompressible fluids as follows [14]:
Casting Process Simulation in Search of Optimum
@u1 @u2 @u3 Mold Design
þ þ ¼0 ð6Þ The initial design will be considered as design 1. The
@x1 @x2 @x3
geometric designs were divided into small mesh contain
For Newtonian fluids, using the Stokes hypothesis 3,000,000 volume elements (in this case). Material
[14], normal and shear components of the viscous stress properties, convection and conduction designs, and sol-
tensor are given by the following equations: vers used in simulation were based on the embedded
  
@u1 2 @u1 @u2 @u3
s11 ¼ l 2  þ þ
@x1 3 @x1 @x2 @x3
 
@u1 2
¼ l 2  divu ; ð7Þ
@x1 3
where div stands for the divergence operator applied to
the velocity vector. So, we can write the viscous stress
tensor, s, of a Newtonian fluid as follows [14]:
2 3
s11 s12 s13
6 7
s ¼ 4 s21 s22 s23 5
s31 s32 s33 FIGURE 3.—Casting system and runner dimensions for impeller.
2       3
@u1 @u1 @u2 @u1 @u3
l 2 @x  23 divu l 2 @x þ @x l 2 @x þ @x
6 
1
 
2 1
 
3 1
 7
6 7
¼6 6 l 2 @u2
@x1 þ @u1
@x2 l 2 @u2
@x2 þ 2
3 divu l 2 @u2
@x3 þ @u3
@x2
7:
7
4      5
@u3 @u1 @u3 @u2 @u3 2
l 2 @x1 þ @x3 l 2 @x2 þ @x3 l 2 @x3 þ 3 divu
ð8Þ

MAGMASOFT simulations utilize the above equa-

tions, with different boundary conditions as reflected

TABLE 4.—Gating system dimensions.

Runner x-sectional Runner Gate x-sectional Gate length.

Design area mm2 length mm area, mm2 Mm

1 900 350 147 50

2 900 300 220 50
3 690 200 220 20 FIGURE 4.—Design 1 geometry with 14 data points (color figure available
online).
 778
FIGURE 5.—Filling pressure profile in design 1 (color figure available
Downloaded by [King Fahad University of Petroleum & Minerals], [Anwar Sheikh] at 06:25 22 February 2013
online).
database of MAGMASOFT [15], which provides
properties such as heat transfer properties coefficients,
kinematic viscosity, and density at liquid temperature,
sand properties, and core materials properties [15].
Fourteen data points were marked in the geometric
design [15]. These data points will provide data as ther-
mocouple, velocity meters, and pressure gauges.
The data of pressure and velocity were collected at the
runner near the entry point of gate (data point 12), gate
(data point 3) in cast body near gate (data point 8), and
middle of casting (data point 6). The measurements of
the temperature were recorded on the locations at run-
ner (data point 12), gate (data point 3), near gate in cast-
ing (data point 8), and middle of cast body thick section
(data point 6), thin sections of cast body (data point 11),
and feeder (data point 5). The location of these data
points are mentioned in Figs. 6, 7, and 8. Basic calcula-
tions were based on the discussion in the previous sec-
tion. The common factors in all simulation designs
were the filling time being 4s, a two gate feeding system,
rectangular runner design, and constant pouring tem-
perature of the cast metal.
The mold designs were simulated, improved, and then
resimulated to reach the optimal design. The filling
velocity, pressure, filling temperature, and solidification
temperature were the key parameters under consider-
ation [16, 17].
FIGURE 6.—Design 1 filling velocity profile (color figure available online).
H. IQBAL ET AL.
FIGURE 7.—Design 1, metal flow pattern (color figure available online).
The effects of these factors on the casting quality were
analyzed based on simulation results [17]. The key
quality features being observed were porosity, hot spot,
and stress distribution [17]. On the basis of these quality
features analyses optimal design was finalized among
various options for the real casting work.
Mold Design 1. Thesolid model of the mold design 1
is shown in Fig. 4. The cast body was oriented in the
mold in such a way that thin area is in the cope. The
gating design dimensions are mentioned in Table 4.
The measurements of filling pressures (Fig. 5) and
filling velocity (Fig. 6) are shown below.
The filling pressure at time 3.23 s was raised up to
1,436 mbar (1.43 bar) in the middle of cast body as com-
pared to pressure in runner which was 1,130 mbar and in
gate it was 1,323 mbar; this results in the restricted flow
of the metal and the turbulence, as shown in the velocity
graph, Figs. 6 and 7. This behavior can cause the erosion
of mold walls, resulting in poor surface quality and high
air entrapment, shown in (Fig. 8).
Solidification Temperature. The solidification tempera-
ture pattern affects the shrinkage, consequently porosity,
FIGURE 8.—Design 1, X-ray feature, air entrapment (color figure available
online).
 SAND CASTING OF COMPLEX GEOMETRIES
Downloaded by [King Fahad University of Petroleum & Minerals], [Anwar Sheikh] at 06:25 22 February 2013
FIGURE 9.—Design 1, solidification rate, temperature curves (color figure
available online).
and stress distributionas shown in Fig. 11. Cooling rate
was higher in gates and the feeder is attached through
gate with casting so that material feeding during solidi-
fication process was restricted. This created the porosity
in the middle of the cast body as shown in (Fig. 11).
It is also predicted that due to the thick section in the
middle of the cast body, the hot spot was generated, as
shown in (Fig. 11). The stress distribution is shown in
the figure. The uneven stress was predicted. This can cause
the cracks in the casting and affects the casting quality.
Mold Design 2. Based upon the observations on
design 1, a modified design (design 2) was proposed. This
second mold design is shown in Fig. 13. The cast body
was inverted as compared to design 1 in such a way that
thin area is in drag. The gating design dimensions are
mentioned in Table 4. The feeder location was changed
and located at the top of porosity concentration area.
Filling Pressure and Velocity. The measurement of fill-
ing pressures (Fig. 14) and filling velocity (Fig. 15) are
shown in what follows.
FIGURE 10.—Design 1, porosity concentration (color figure available
online).
779
FIGURE 11.—Design 1, hot spots (color figure available online).
The filling pressure at time 3.52 s was raised to 1,349
mbar (1.35 bar) in the middle of cast body as compared
to pressure in runner which was 1,180 mbar and in gate
it was 1,272 mbar. At time of 3.52 s, 92% of casting was
filled and high pressure started to build in the feeder,
which resulted in the sound filling of the cast body and
no air entrapment as shown in (Fig. 20). The velocity
graphs predicted the turbulence, which is shown in velo-
city graphs (Figs. 15 and 16). This behavior can affect
the mold wall erosion and consequently will produce
poor surface quality.
Solidification Temperature. Cooling rate during solidi-
fication at the thin section shown in curve 7 (Fig. 17)
is higher than other locations, which results in greater
residual stress in the thick section. The feeder and center
of the casting cool down at the same rate and slower
than the main casting body, Fig. 17, which helps to elim-
inate the porosity as shown in Fig. 18.
It is also predicted that, due to the direct attachment
of feeder to the middle of casting section, significant
reduction of the hot spot takes place, as shown in Fig. 19.
The stress distribution is shown in Fig. 21. An evenly
distributed stress was predicted. This is a key factor indi-
cating sound and good quality of casting and shows the
improvements in the design.
FIGURE 12.—Design 1, stress distribution (color figure available online).
 780 H. IQBAL ET AL.
Downloaded by [King Fahad University of Petroleum & Minerals], [Anwar Sheikh] at 06:25 22 February 2013

FIGURE 13.—Design 2, geometric design.

FIGURE 16.—Design 2, metal flow pattern (color figure available online).

FIGURE 14.—Design 2, filling pressure profile (color figure available

online).

Mold Design 3. The third design for simulation
analysis is shown in Fig. 22. This design is an improved
version of design 2. The main objective was to increase
the yield by reducing the volume of gating design
Table 4. The design modification was done by the recom-
FIGURE 17.—Design 2, solidification temperature (color figure available
online).
mendations by the JICA standards [13]. The simulation
results are showing the effect of the size reduction of gat-
ing. The parameters under consideration were kept the

FIGURE 15.—Design 2, filling velocity profile (color figure available

online). FIGURE 18.—Design 2, air entrapment (color figure available online).
 SAND CASTING OF COMPLEX GEOMETRIES
Downloaded by [King Fahad University of Petroleum & Minerals], [Anwar Sheikh] at 06:25 22 February 2013
FIGURE 19.—Design 2, hot spot (color figure available online).
same, and predicted data was collected on the same loca-
tions as per designs 1 and 2.
Filling Pressure and Velocity. The measurement of fill-
ing pressures (Fig. 23) and filling velocity (Fig. 24) are as
follows.
The filling pressure in runner and gates remained high
during the complete filling cycle as compared to cast
body. The higher and gradual increase in pressure as
compared to previously studied designs in runner and
gate indicated the pressurized system. The filling pressure
during complete filling cycle in the cast body remained
less than in the cast body as shown in Fig. 23. The uni-
form distribution of pressure in the system also provides
a recommended mixed laminar=turbulent flow in the
casting system (Fig. 25). Consequently, it eliminates the
possibility of mold wall erosion and better surface quality
and elimination of porosity and hot spots (Fig. 26).
Solidification Temperature. A sequential pattern of
cooling was predicted. The cooling rate in feeder and
middle of casting is slower than the whole casting. The
resultant effect is a sound and porosity-free casting
(Figs. 27 and 28) and elimination of hot spot (Fig. 29).
FIGURE 20.—Design 2, porosity (color figure available online).
781
FIGURE 21.—Design 2, stress distribution (color figure available online).
The stress distribution is shown in Fig. 30. Evenly dis-
tributed stress was predicted, which indicates crack-free,
sound quality casting of design 3.
Optimal Design
On the basis of the predicted results, three simulated
designs were compared to select the optimal design.
Due to air entrapment, porosity, hot spot, and unevenly
distributed stress, design 1 was not considered to be an
optimal design (Figs. 7, 8, 10, 11). Due to much closer
results and defect free casting predictions of designs 2
and 3, both designs were compared thoroughly, and
design 3 was selected for the final casting on following
basis.
Filling Conditions. Comparing filling pressure in
design 2 and 3, in design 2 during filling high pressure
in casting was predicted at 95% filling (Fig. 14), while
in design 3 a continuous high pressure was maintained
first in the runner then gates, and then casting (Fig. 23)
which indicates the pressurized gating system. As a
result of these pressure variations, in design 2 the high
turbulence in filling velocity was predicted (Fig. 15),
whereas in design 3, the smooth pattern (Fig. 24) indi-
cates a recommended mixed laminar=turbulent flow of
the casting which is more suitable for mold life and good
quality casting.
FIGURE 22.—Design 3, geometry and data points.
 782
Downloaded by [King Fahad University of Petroleum & Minerals], [Anwar Sheikh] at 06:25 22 February 2013
FIGURE 23.—Design 3, filling pressures (color figure available online).
FIGURE 24.—Design 3, filling velocity (color figure available online).
Solidification Pattern. The solidification patterns
were compared for three results. It clearly shows that
the cooling rate was higher in thin wall sections as
compared to the thick sections.
In design 1 the feeder was not connected near the heat
concentrated areas. The connecting gate x-section was
FIGURE 25.—Design 3, metal flow pattern (color figure available online).
H. IQBAL ET AL.
FIGURE 26.—Design 3, air entrapment (color figure available online).
FIGURE 27.—Design 3, solidification temperature (color figure available
online).
smaller than the feeder, so that the feeding gate solidified
before the feeder and main cast body, and metal flow
during solidification stopped; it consequently resulted
in the porosity (Fig. 10) and uneven stress distribution
in casting (Fig. 11).
FIGURE 28.—Design 3, porosity (color figure available online).
 SAND CASTING OF COMPLEX GEOMETRIES 783
Downloaded by [King Fahad University of Petroleum & Minerals], [Anwar Sheikh] at 06:25 22 February 2013

FIGURE 29.—Design 3, hot spot (color figure available online).

FIGURE 32.—Sand mold of optimal design (color figure available online).

FIGURE 30.—Design 3, stress distribution (color figure available online).

Comparing designs 2 and 3, the feeder is directly

attached with the thick and low cooling rate sections.
Due to this configuration, the porosity was completely
eliminated in these designs, and even stress distribution FIGURE 33.—Metallurgical sample locations (color figure available online).
was predicted (Figs. 20, 21, 28, 30). The improved design
is shown in Fig. 31.

FIGURE 31.—Optimal design, geometric design (color figure available FIGURE 34.—Samples for metallurgical analysis (color figure available
online). online).
 784 H. IQBAL ET AL.

TABLE 5.—Vickers microhardness.

Sample # Load of testing Location Reading (HV)

1 100 g Edge 78.8

Center 60.6
Edge 59.0
Average Sample 1
2 100 g Edge 54.0
Center 59.1
Edge 57.4
Average Sample 2 FIGURE 36.—Final casting after minor machining (color figure available
3 100 g Edge 57.4 online).
Downloaded by [King Fahad University of Petroleum & Minerals], [Anwar Sheikh] at 06:25 22 February 2013

Center 54.0
Edge 66.0 (Fig. 34) for metallurgical studies. The microhardness
Average Sample 3
and metallurgical structure was under consideration on
4 100 g Edge 69.9
Center 76.6
locations mentioned in Fig. 33. The results are shown
Edge 71.5 in Table 5. Dendrite structure was observed. The faster
Average Sample 4 cooling rate generated the smaller dendrites (Fig. 35)
5 100 g Edge 79.1 as compared to slower cooling areas where larger
Center 71.2 dendrites were observed.
Edge 68.8
Average Sample 5 CONCLUSIONS
6 100 g 59.5
71.2
Design optimization of gating system facilitates the
82.5 smooth filling of the mold without air entrapment or
Average Sample 6 material flow hindrance. Conventionally, foundry’s prac-
7 100 g Edge 87.2 tice of the tedious hit-and-trial method to get the optimum
Center 66.2 design of pattern=mold can be improved to enhance the
Edge 94.0 mold development by utilizing simulation tools. It pre-
Average Sample 7 dicts the key factors affecting quality, such as filling press-
ure, velocity, cooling rate, hot spots, and inside porosity.
These predicted results can be helpful for the optimal
Design 3 was selected for the casting and metallurgical gating location and sizing, location of feeder, or air vents.
studies, on the following basis of discussed results: The filling pressure and velocity of cast metals information
can be utilized to calculate the Reynold’s number, which
1. Better yield; should be between 2000 and 20000 as an acceptable flow
2. Recommended range of mixed laminar=turbulent regime in good practice mold design. This will avoid air
flow of cast metal; entrapment and mold damage.
3. No porosity and hot spot. The effect of design on parameters such as temperature
gradient, filling pattern, cooling rate, solidification, and
CASTING AND METALLURGICAL STUDY defects such as air entrapment, hot spot, and porosity
Design 3 was cast. The filling conditions were main- were studied. The predicted results were then compared
tained as per simulated parameters in Fig. 32. The pour- with experimental data and an excellent agreement
ing temperature was 725 C, which slightly decreased between them was reported. The article highlights the
during the filling up to 695 C. The casting was sliced effectiveness of simulation to reach an optimal design
of mold bypassing the costly hit-and-trial conventional
mold design and development practice in the foundry
industry and shows the effectiveness of simulations in
time compression of casting pattern=development and a
sound resulting cast product. (See final casting after
minor machining, Fig. 36.)

FIGURE 35.—Dendrite structure (color figure available online).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge King Abdul
Aziz City of Science and Technology (KACST) through
the Science and Technology Unit at King Fahd Univer-
sity of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) for funding
this work through project 08-ADV71-4 as part of the
National Science, Technology, and Innovation Plan
(NSTIP). Authors also thanks KFUPM for their
sustained support in providing an excellent research
 SAND CASTING OF COMPLEX GEOMETRIES
environment in the form of Rapid Prototyping lab, and
ME Workshop of Mechanical Engineering Department.
REFERENCES
1. Senthilkumara, B.; Ponnambalamb, S.G.; Jawaharc, N. Pro-
cess factor optimization for controlling pull-down defects in
iron castings. Journal of Materials Processing Technology
2008, 168, 10–15.
2. Casting Design Handbook; American Society for Metals:
Metals Park, Ohio, 1962.
3. Fu-Yuan, H.; Jolly, M.; Campbell, J. A multiple-gate runner
Downloaded by [King Fahad University of Petroleum & Minerals], [Anwar Sheikh] at 06:25 22 February 2013
system for gravity casting. Journal of Materials Processing
Technology 2009, 209, 5736–5750.
4. Mi, G.-f.; Liu, X.-y.; Wang, K.-f.; Fu, H.-z. Application of
numerical simulation technique to casting process of valve block.
Journal of Iron and Steel Research International 2009, 16, 12–17.
5. Hu, H.-J.; Yang, M.-B.; Luo, J.; Wang, C.-H.; Chen, K.
Application of the software ProCAST in the casting of solidi-
fication simulation. Material Science and Technology 2006, 14
(3), 293–295.
6. Recommended Practices for Sand Casting Aluminum and
Magnesium Alloys, 2nd Ed.; American Foundrymen’s Society:
Des Plaines, IL, 1965.
7. Li, L.; Zhu, B.; Zhang, L. Simulation study on the LPDC
process for thin-walled aluminum alloy casting. Materials
and Manufacturing Processes 2009, 24 (12), 1349–1353.
8. Kulkarni, M.S.; Subash Babu, A. Optimization of continuous
casting using simulation. Materials and Manufacturing
Processes 2005, 20 (4), 595–606.
View publication stats
785
9. Lewis, R.W.; Ransing, R.S.; Pao, W.K.S.; Kulasegaram, K.;
Bonet, J. Alternative techniques for casting process simula-
tion. International Journal of Numerical, Methods for Heat
and Fluid Flow 2004, 14 (2), 145–166.
10. Ammen, C.W. The Complete Handbook of Sand Casting; Tab
Books: Blue Ridge Summit, PA, 1979.
11. The Essentials of Gating and Risering System Design; Rio
Tinto Iron and Titanium Inc.: Montréal, Canada, 1987.
12. Kalpakjian, S. Manufacturing Engineering and Technology,
3rd Ed.; Addison-Wesley: Reading, MA, 1995.
13. Nogoya International Training Center. Guide for Sand
Casting. Japan International Cooperation Agency: Tokyo,
2009.
14. MAGMASOFT 4.4 Manual. Part One. MAGMA Giesserei-
technologie GmbH, 2005.
15. Hattel, J. Fundamentals of Numerical Designing of Casting
Processes; Narayana Press: Odder, Denmark, 2005.
16. Gunasegarama, D.R.; Farnsworthb, D.J.; Nguyen, T.T.
Identification of critical factors affecting shrinkage porosity
in permanent mold casting using numerical simulations based
on design of experiments. Journal of Materials Processing
Technology 2009, 209, 1209–1219.
17. Seifeddine, S.; Svensson, L. Prediction of mechanical proper-
ties of cast aluminium at various iron contents. Materials and
Design 2010, 31 (S1), S6–S12.
18. Ferguson, D.; Chen, W.; Bonesteel, T.; Vosburgh, J. A look
at physical simulation of metallurgical processes, past, present
and future. Materials Science and Engineering A 2009, 499,
329–332.