DESIGN OF CASTINGS FACTORS INVOLVED Heat transfer between metal and mold Design considerations in casting Designing for

for directional solidification and minimum stresses Principle of design of gating and risering

Heat transfer between metal and mold Hot liquid metal takes time to lose its heat and solidify. The rate at which it can lose its heat is controlled by a number of resistances. The resistances to heat flow from the interior of the casting: The liquid, Solidified metal, The metal and mould interface, The mould, The surrounding of the mould. Thermal resistance and control the rate of loss of heat

Resistance 1: Casting This type of freezing regime is not common for metal castings of high thermal conductivity such as the light alloys or Cu-based alloys. The casting of Pb - Sb alloy into steel dies for the production of battery grids and terminals; the casting of steel into a copper mould; or the casting of hot wax into metal dies as in the injection of wax patterns for investment casting. Unidirectional flow of heat from a metal poured exactly at its melting point T, against a mould wall initially at temperature To, The metal/mould interface

Heat flow is controlled to a significant extent by the resistance at the metal mould interface. This occurs when both the metal and the mould have reasonably good rates of heat conductance, leaving the boundary between the two the dominant resistance. The interface becomes overriding in this way when an insulating mould coat is applied, or when the casting cools and shrinks away from the mould (and the mould heats up, expanding away from the metal), leaving an air gap separating the two.

The metal/mould interface As the casting cools and the mould heats up, the two remain in good thermal contact while the casting interface is still liquid. When the casting starts to solidify, it rapidly gains strength, and can contract away from the mould. In turn, as the mould surface increases in temperature it will expand and air gap is formed.

Inward and outward expansion

Variable air Gap

Air Gap Vs Time

Metal / mould interface

Resistance 3 : Mould The rate of freezing of castings made in silica sand moulds is generally controlled by the rate at which heat can he absorbed by the mould. sand mould acts as an excellent insulator, keeping the casting warm. However, of course, ceramic investment and plaster moulds are even more insulating, avoiding premature cooling of the metal, and aiding fluidity to give the excellent ability to fill thin sections for which these casting processes are renowned. It is regrettable that the extremely slow cooling can contribute to rather poorer mechanical properties. Increased Heat Transfer The rate of heat extraction from a casting using a number of tricks. placement of chill blocks in the mould, adjacent to the casting, fins attached to the casting to increase the surface area through which heat can be dissipated. Convection Convection is the bulk movement of the liquid under the driving force of density differences in the liquid. heavy solutes cause the liquid to sink, and the lighter solutes cause flotation. hot liquid will expand, becoming less dense, and will rise; cool liquid will contract, becoming denser, and so will sink. the hot metal is at the bottom and the cold metal at the top. As the casting starts to solidify, the cold liquid metal drifts downward, draining into the riser tube. Here it is replaced by hot metal flowing up the heated riser tube and into the casting. Convection Driven flow

Thermal convection

Casting Design - Solidification solidification (the freezing of molten metal inherent in all casting processes). The solidification of a casting can involve as many as three separate contractions as a result of cooling: o Liquid Liquid Contraction o Liquid Solid Contraction o Solid Solid Contraction Liquid-liquid contraction occurs as a result of the liquid cooling from its pouring temperature (usually 110 to 165 C,or 200 to 300 F, above its melting point) down to the melting point or solidification temperature. Solidification Solid-solid contraction occurs after a casting has solidified and as it cools from the solidification temperature to room temperature. The design engineer must be concerned with this contraction. To ensure that the dimensions of the casting are correct, the pattern used to produce a given casting usually must be made slightly larger than the casting dimensions at room temperature. The pattern maker compensates for this pattern enlargement for a particular alloy by using a shrink rule specifically for the alloy involved. Further, because the amount of solid contraction is a function of the particular metal to be cast, problems with dimensions can often occur when changing alloys if the same pattern equipment is used.

Solidification designers specifying the alloys should carefully consider any change in alloy to ensure that the cost of new equipment does not cancel out the benefits to be achieved by such changes. Solid-solid contraction should also be considered in part design, because it is one of the primary causes of warped and cracked castings. A basic concept that governs the way castings cool is the casting modulus (the volume of a portion of a casting divided by the surface area of that portion of the casting). This relationship of geometry to cooling is easily understood by considering the effects of both volume and surface area on cooling rates. As volume increases, more hot metal will be contained within it, and the casting will therefore take longer to cool. Conversely, because all the heat within a casting must pass through a surface at the metal/mold interface, the greater the surface area, the faster the casting will cool. Thus, as the volume-to-surface area ratio (casting modulus) increases, the time required for cooling and solidification is extended. Solidification

Solidification Thinner sections will have cooled and contracted by solid-solid contraction before the thicker section, and because of this the thicker section applies a compressive stress to the thinner sections as it cools. Such stresses have been measured to levels as high as 552 MPa (80 ksi), depending on the alloy and section size variations. Therefore, a casting designed in this way will have a strong tendency toward warpage as a result of the imposed stresses. Although a casting may not be warped when taken from the mold, the internal stresses that develop as a result of design can appear at later stages as cracks or warping, often after heat treatment welding, and machining.

If design features result in warpage, foundrymen often compensate for this by using tie bars that are usually small cast-on bars attached to various parts of the casting to brace the casting and therefore prevent warpage. It can lead to the distortion of castings include improper heat-treating practices, difficult tocollapse molds or cores, shakeout procedures, rigging, and the way in which the casting cools; these factors are under the control of the foundry engineer. Problems with warpage and cracks can often be eliminated through the cooperative effort of casting designers and foundry engineers. The importance of solid-solid contraction as applied to design means that an attempt should be made to reduce dramatic variations in the section sizes of castings. Liquid solid contraction Liquid-solid contraction is by far the greatest difficulty due to solidification that faces the foundry engineer. It is also one of the greatest opportunities for the design engineer to design for low cost, high quality, and timely delivery. Most metals contract as they pass from the liquid to the solid state. Certain compositions of gray and ductile iron are the exceptions to this rule in the major alloys produced by foundries. The entire founding process is possible only because volumetric contraction locates itself in solidifying castings in a systematic way. Solidification sequence

The aspect of liquid-solid contraction that allows castings to be produced is that all of the contraction is concentrated in the last portion(s) of the casting to solidify. The foundry man uses this principle to produce sound castings by attaching a volume of metal to the last portion of the casting to solidify. This technique is illustrated in Fig. 2. Such feed metal reservoirs are called risers. Proper placement of risers on castings changes the way in which both casting and riser(s) solidify such that the riser is the last to solidify. When used properly, this produces a casting free of shrinkage because all the shrinkage for the entire mass of both casting and riser will be concentrated in the riser. However, in many cases, the design of the casting restricts the proper placement of risers, making the production of sound castings difficult if not impossible.

Riser Design RISER DESIGN, or risering, deals with the development of suitable reservoirs of feed metal in addition to the desired casting shape so that undesirable shrinkage cavities in the casting are eliminated or moved to locations where they are acceptable for the intended application of the casting. When metals solidify and cool to form a casting, they generally undergo three distinct stages of volume contraction, or shrinkage. Liquid shrinkage: The liquid metal loses volume as it gives up superheat and cools to its solidification temperature. Solidification shrinkage: The metal freezes, changing from a liquid to a higher-density solid. For pure metals, this contraction will occur at a single temperature, but for alloys it will take place over some temperature range or freezing interval. Solid shrinkage: The solid casting cools from its solidification temperature to room temperature.

Solid shrinkage (also called patternmaker's shrinkage), is accommodated by making the pattern (and therefore the mold cavity) somewhat larger than the desired dimensions of the final casting. Liquid shrinkage and solidification shrinkage are the concern of risering practice. In the absence of risers, a casting would otherwise solidify. To eliminate these undesirable defects in the casting, a riser will be added to accommodate the liquid shrinkage and to supply liquid feed metal to compensate for the solidification shrinkage within the casting (Fig. 3). Therefore, the shrinkage in the riser/casting system is concentrated in the riser, which will then be removed from the finished casting. The riser must often be larger than the casting it feeds, because it must supply feed metal for as long as the casting is solidifying. Various methods are used to reduce the size of the required riser, including chilling the casting (that is, reducing its solidification time) or insulating the riser (that is, extending its solidification time). Optimum Riser design The riser/casting junction should be designed to minimize riser removal costs. The number and size of risers should be minimized to increase mold yield and to reduce production costs. Riser placement must be chosen so as not to exaggerate potential problems in a particular casting design (for example, tendencies toward hot tearing or distortion)

DEFECTS WITH POOR RISER DESIGN Feed Metal Volume : The riser must be adequate to satisfy the liquid and solidification shrinkage requirements of the casting. In addition, the riser itself will be solidifying, so the total shrinkage requirement to be met will be for the riser/casting combination. The total feeding requirement will depend on the specific alloy, the amount of superheat, the casting geometry, and the molding medium. Liquid shrinkage will depend on the alloy and the amount of superheat. As indicated in Fig. 1, liquid shrinkage for carbon steels is generally considered to be in the range of 1.6 to 1.8%/100 C (0.9 to 1.0%/100 F) superheat. For graphitic cast irons, liquid shrinkage has been variously reported in the range of 0.68 to 1.8%/100 C (0.38 to 1.0%/100 F). Solidification Shrinkage. solidification shrinkage will vary considerably according to the alloy melted and that, within the graphitic cast irons, expansion may occur. This phenomenon is often ascribed to the precipitation of the less dense graphite phase overcoming the contraction associated with the solidification of austenite. Mold Dilation. Mold wall movement after a mold cavity has been filled with liquid metal can enlarge the casting and thus increase the feed metal requirements. Such mold dilation is a function of the molding medium, the mold filling temperature, and the alloy. Casting Geometry. The shape of a casting will affect the size of the riser needed to meet its feed requirements for the obvious reason that the longer the casting takes to solidify, the longer the riser must maintain a reservoir of liquid metal.

Riser Location To determine the correct riser location, the methods engineer must make use of the concept of directional solidification. If shrinkage cavities in the casting are to be avoided, solidification should proceed directionally from those parts of the casting farthest from the riser, through the intermediate portions of the casting, and finally into the riser itself, where the final solidification will occur. Shrinkage at each step of solidification is thus fed by liquid feed metal being drawn out of the riser. The ability to achieve such directional solidification will depend on: The alloy and its mode of solidification The mold medium The casting design

Directional Solidification With the mold cavity filled, solidification will generally proceed from the mold wall, where a skin of solid metal will form. As heat is lost to the mold, that skin will grow progressively inward. Two conditions serve to change the rate of this growth. At the casting edge, where the greater surface area allows more rapid transfer of heat to the mold, the solidification rate will be faster. At the riser, where the mass of the riser provides more heat, and where heat transfer to the mold is reduced at the internal angle of the riser/casting junction, the rate of skin formation will be reduced. This combination of edge effect, or end effect, and riser effect provides directional solidification.

Gate Design A GATING SYSTEM is the conduit network through which liquid metal enters a mold and flows to fill the mold cavity, where the metal can then solidify to form the desired casting shape. The basic components of a simple gating system for a horizontally parted mold are shown in Fig. 1. A pouring cup or a pouring basin provides an opening for the introduction of metal from a pouring device. A sprue carries the liquid metal down to join one or more runners, which distribute the metal throughout the mold until it can enter the casting cavity through in gates.

Gating design variables Rapid mold filling Minimizing Turbulence. Avoiding Mold and Core Erosion. Removing Slag, Dross, and Inclusions. Promoting Favorable Thermal Gradients. Maximizing Yield. Economical Gating Removal. Avoiding casting distortion Compatibility With Existing Molding/Pouring Methods. Controlled Flow Conditions. Rapid mold filling can be important for several reasons. Especially with thin-section castings, heat loss from the liquid metal during mold filling may result in premature freezing, producing surface defects (for example, cold laps) or incompletely filled sections (misruns). Superheating of the molten metal will increase fluidity and retard freezing, but excessive superheat can increase problems of gas pickup by the molten metal and exaggerate the thermal degradation of the mold medium. In addition, the mold filling time should be kept shorter than the mold producing time of the molding equipment to maximize productivity. Minimizing Turbulence. Turbulent filling and flow in the gating system and mold cavity can increase mechanical and thermal attack on the mold. More important, turbulence may

produce casting defects by promoting the entrainment of gases into the flowing metal. These gases may by themselves become defects (for example bubbles), or they may produce dross or inclusions by reacting with the liquid metal. Avoiding Mold and Core Erosion. High flow velocity or improperly directed flow against a mold or core surface may produce defective castings by eroding the mold surface (thus enlarging the mold cavity) and by entraining the dislodged particles of the mold to produce inclusions in the casting. Removing Slag, Dross, and Inclusions. This factor includes materials that may be introduced from outside the mold (for example, furnace slags and ladle refractories) and those that may be generated inside the system. Methods can be incorporated into the gating system to trap such particles (for example, filters) or to allow them time to float out of the metal stream before entering the mold cavity. Promoting Favorable Thermal Gradients. Because the last metal to enter the mold cavity will generally be the hottest, it is usually desirable to introduce metal in those parts of the casting that would already be expected to be the last to solidify. One obvious method of accomplishing this is to direct the metal flow from the gating system into a riser, from which it then enters the mold cavity. Because the riser is generally designed to be the last part of the riser/casting system to solidify, such a gating arrangement will help promote directional solidification from the casting to the riser. Maximizing Yield. A variety of unrecoverable costs must go into the metal that will fill the gating system and risers. These components must then be removed from the casting and generally returned for remelt, where their value is downgraded to that of scrap. Production costs can be significantly reduced by minimizing the amount of metal contained. in the gating system. The production capacity of a foundry can also be enhanced by increasing the percentage of salable castings that can be produced from a given volume of melted metal. Economical Gating Removal. Costs associated with the cleaning and finishing of castings can be reduced if the number and size of ingate connections with the casting can be minimized. Again, it may be advantageous to introduce metal into the mold cavity through a riser, because the riser neck can also serve as an in gate. Avoiding casting distortion is especially important with rangy, thin-wall castings, in which uneven distribution of heat as the mold cavity is filled may produce undesirable solidification patterns that cause the casting to warp. In addition, the contraction of the gating system as it solidifies can pull on sections of the solidifying casting, resulting in hot tearing or distortion. Compatibility With Existing Molding/Pouring Methods. Modern high-production molding machines and automated pouring systems often severely limit the flexibility allowed in locating and shaping the pouring cup and sprue for introducing metal into the mold. They also generally place definite limits on the rate at which metal can be poured.

Controlled Flow Conditions. A steady flow rate of metal in the gating system should be established as soon as possible during mold filling, and the conditions of flow should be predictably consistent from one mold to the next.

Directional Solidification The process used to manufacture directionally solidified castings with a columnar structure requires careful control to ensure that castings which are of acceptable quality are produced. Specialized furnaces are used, and mold design is quite different from that used for conventional investment castings. directional solidification is in the manufacture of blades (rotating parts) for gas turbine engines. These components are subjected to high stresses along their major axes, as well as high temperatures. Because grain boundaries are weaker than grains at high temperatures, it is logical to align them parallel to the axis of principal stress to minimize their effect on properties. The alloy that was originally used in directionally solidified turbine components was MAR M200, a nickel base alloy containing 12.5% W. The solidified structure consisted of tungsten-rich dendrites with high strength and creep resistance that grew to the length of the casting. The grain-boundary material, which was parallel to the dendrites, was strong enough to withstand the transverse stresses on the components. The properties of the directionally solidified alloy were far superior to those of the equi axed alloy. the production of directionally solidified castings requires that both the thermal gradient and its rate of travel be controlled. For the case of nickel-base alloys, thermal gradients of 36 to 72 C/cm (165 to 330 F/in.) have been found to be effective (Ref 4), and rates of travel of 30 cm/h (12 in./h) can be used. In columnar structures, the primary dendrites are aligned, as are the grain boundaries. The primary dendrites form around spines of the highest-melting constituent to freeze. As freezing continues, the solid rejects solute into the residual liquid (segregation occurs) until the final low-melting eutectic has frozen at the grain boundaries. Because segregation products collect in the grain boundaries, it is important to consider the composition of these grain boundaries in directional structures. An ideal composition for directional solidification is one in which the primary dendrites form around a strong spine, while the grain boundaries also retain their strength. A poor alloy is one in which the segregation products form embrittling phases, especially adjacent to secondary dendrite arms, which are normal to the primary stress axis.

Defects unique to directional solidification Equiaxed grains are most often freckles, which are caused by segregation of eutectic liquid that is less dense than the bulk liquid in many alloys. This liquid forms jets within the mushy zone, and as these jets freeze they form equiaxed grains. Freckles are usually cured by increasing the thermal gradient and solidification rate in the casting. Misoriented grains occur when the temperature ahead of the interface falls below the liquidus temperature and new grains nucleate. These grains will have a random orientation, but because they are growing in gradient, they will be columnar. They can be eliminated by increasing the gradient. Shrinkage is sometimes encountered on the upper surfaces of directionally solidified castings. There is no way to feed these surfaces; the addition of risers to these surfaces usually interferes with radiation heat transfer from another part of the casting. The most common solution is to invert the casting in order to minimize the surface area that is susceptible to shrinkage. Microporosity may occur in directionally solidified castings if the length of the mushy zone (length of the casting that is between the liquidus and solidus temperatures during solidification) becomes too great for feed metal to reach into the areas where solidification is taking place. Increasing the thermal gradient (which shortens the length of the mushy zone) usually solves this problem.

Mold or Core Distortion. A frequent cause of scrap in directionally solidified castings results from mold or core distortion. Because the mold and core are held at high temperatures for long times while the casting solidifies, it is possible for the mold or core to sag or to undergo local allotropic transformations of the refractory materials from which they are made. The resulting changes in mold or core dimensions are reflected in the casting dimensions. Careful control of the core and mold composition, their uniformity, and the firing conditions under which they are made is required in order to avoid these dimensional problems.

Gating system It refers to all the sections through which the molten metal passes while entering into the mould cavity. Elements of gating system:

1.pouring cup 2.sprue 3.sprue well 4.runner 5.ingates 6.riser Functions of gating system

Fill the mould cavity completely before freezing. Minimizing turbulence. Avoiding erosion Removing inclusions Regulate flow of molten metal. Consume least metal less scrap Trap contaminants. Establish directional solidifications. Comparison of gating system

Design and location of ingates Multiple ingates are preferable for the large castings A fillet should be used where an ingate meets a casting produces less turbulence. The minimum ingate length should be three to five times the ingates width, depending on the metal being cast. Curved ingates should be avoided, as far as possible.

Design of riser * uses two methods CAINES method and Modulus Methode* It acts as a reservoir of molten metal in the mould to compensate for shrinkage during solidification. Guidelines for riser design and location: Riser must not solidify before casting. The volume of riser must be large enough to feed the entire shrinkage of the casting. The pressure head from the riser should enable complete cavity filling. Riser must be placed so that the liquid metal can be delivered to locations where it is most needed. Modulus method Modulus of solidification of casting or riser is defined as the ratio of its volume and surface area. Modulus method is based on chvorinovs rule.

Canes methode

A casting with a higher modulus ( volume to surface area ratio) cools and solidifies more slowly than the one with a lower modulus. To feed molten metal to the casting. TST of the riser be greater than TST of the casting. Since mould constants of riser and casting will be equal, design the riser to have a larger modulus, so that the main casting solidifies first, Requirement of the riser to feed the casting: Modulus of the riser should be greater than modulus of casting, then only riser can succes fully feed the casting. Solidification of casting

Two steps: Nucleation Growth Nucleation: It refers to the process in which tiny solid particles called nuclei are formed when liquid metal cools below its liquidous temperature. Two types of nucleation:

Homogeneous nucleation : occurs without the help of foreign particles. Heterogeneous nucleation : occurs with the help of foreign particles ( such as the mould material, impurities and added nucleating materials)