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MY4130 Lecture Notes
MY4130 Lecture Notes
We finished deriving the equations for solidification time in both insulating and permanent molds. We identified the fact that the modulus:
is an important geometric factor that can be used to relate judge when certain "bodies" within a mold will solidify relative to one another.
In doing so, we have laid the groundwork for designing risers that will be just large enough to be effective in feeding porosity.
Again, risers are reservoirs of molten metal that feed shrinkage that occurs during solidification. Risers can only be effective if there is a
pathway for the liquid metal to flow from the riser, to the casting. They cannot address solid state shrinkage.
As we saw from lab, if we do not riser our castings properly we end up with:
Both of which lead to dimensionally scrapped castings, inferior properties, and a very short time in the foundry business if you can't remedy
the problem.
As we found out doing a very simplified FEA, solidification occurs from the mold walls-inward. This means that the pathways between our
molten metal reservoir (our riser), progressively close off over time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_KtByZdibI
Dendritic solidification accompanies many solidification processes. The growth of dendrites causes a "mushy zone" to develop which is
driven by thermodynamic and kinetic factors. Fluid flow through these mushy zones can greatly influence how effective risers are in
addressing shrink porosity.
As soon as we add one more element to the system (Al-Si for example), we give the thermodynamic system an additional degree of freedom
(composition of another element). Due to that additional degree of freedom, the material no longer melts/solidifies at a single
temperature. Instead, the alloy solidifies over a range.
The proper term to use for the temperature at which alloys are 100% liquid is: Liquidus (TL)
The proper term to use for the temperature at which alloys are 100% solid is: Solidus (Ts)
The solidification range is thus defined as the difference between liquidus and solidus : TL-Ts
This is a key thermodynamic factor that gives us an idea on how well liquid can flow from the riser to the casting
Eutectic: For binary systems, this is an invariant point (at a fixed composition/temperature) where the liquid transforms to two different
solid phases. (L->Solid1+Solid1)
Solvus: Temperature above which a secondary phase dissolves into a matrix phase (the precipitate dissolves into the solid).
In general, the wider the solidification range, the more difficult it is to feed liquid metal through the developing mushy zone. Looking at a
phase diagram:
In the figure, the red line ("V" shaped curve) is the liquidus. The blue (L shaped curve) is the solidus. The green vertical line to the left is the
solvus line for the silicon dissolving into the aluminum.
As we move from 100% Al to the Eutectic Point, the solidification range first goes up, reaching a maximum at the intersection between the
solvus and solidus, then goes down until the eutectic composition is achieved. Again, depending on composition, we can have more or less
difficulty feeding porosity from our risers because of dendritic growth patterns.
The key take away is that each alloy is designed based on a combination of properties and in some cases the properties of an alloy that
Types of Shrinkage
There are several types of shrinkage that we've already seen in labs.
Type 1: Macroshrinkage
Two subtypes:
Type 2: Microshrinkage
Occurs on the microscopic level (we need magnification to see it). It is finely dispersed and occurs between dendrite arms.
Microporosity is expected in alloys (especially those with large solidification range) due to the tortuous feeding paths that occur in these
systems. Microporosity can occur both internally and externally as shown below depending on the sequence of solidification.
1. Dendrite nucleation from mold walls (heterogeneous nucleation, remember this is more common than homogeneous nucleation)
2. Shrinkage from liquid->solid transformation leads to pressure gradients developing (localized vacuum cells)
3. Liquid flows from high pressure areas to low pressure areas (i.e. towards solidification zones)
If on an external surface, there is no vacuum development and surface microporosity will form. If the liquid cannot reach the low pressure
areas before it is solidified, then porosity will form between dendrite arms.
Riser Design
Solidification Time
Recall from lesson 4, that we came up with the general expression for the solidification time of an effective riser:
>
Which means,
>
>
= 1.1
> 1.21
So we could make a very large riser and properly feed our casting,
This commonly resided between 40-80% (if you get anything above 70% you are doing really well). Remember in addition to the risers, we
also have runners, sprue, pouring basin, etc. It is important to be as efficient in these designs as possible and still produce castings or the
required quality.
Riser Considerations
1. Blind or Open
a. Blind-completely enclosed in the mold, staying hot longer