Aweda, J. O, USEP:Journal of Research Information in Civil Engineering,Vol.6,No.

2, 2009
Jimoh, Y.A
Assessment of Properties of Natural Moulding
Sands in Ilorin and Ilesha, Nigeria
J. O. Aweda* and Y. A. Jimoh**
*
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
**
Department of Civil Engineering,
University of Ilorin, P. M. B. 1515, Ilorin, Nigeria
Corresponding author: jacobaweda@gmail.com

Abstract
The mechanical and permeability properties of natural sand deposits at Ilesha
(south west) and Ilorin (middle belt) in Nigeria used in the foundry as moulding
sand for casting of non-ferrous metals were investigated. The aim was to
determine the optimum moisture content (OMC) for appropriate foundry
works. The variation of the green strength of the moulding sand with the
mixing water content was conducted to establish the OMC of 8% and 9%
respectively for Ilesha and Ilorin sands. The corresponding values of the green
compression strength of 52kN/m2 and 50kN/m2, dry compression strength of
285kN/m2 and 300kN/m2, shatter index values of 38 and 37 and the
permeability index of 50 and 47.5 for Ilorin and Ilesha deposits respectively
obtained at OMC of 8-9% were found adequate to produce sound casting of
non-ferrous metals. The results indicate that with water addition in the range of
8-9%, the natural sands exhibit appropriate casting properties for non-ferrous
metals in accordance with the standards and specifications of the America
Foundry Society (AFS).

Keywords: casting, sand moulding, natural sand

1. Introduction
Sand casting is still a very common casting process used in the foundry
industry worldwide. Sands, by virtue of the fineness and sphericity of their
particles are closely packed and can therefore form a smooth mould surface.
Sand moulds are designed to have a good collapsibility and accommodate
shrinkage of cast metal during solidification, to avoid defects in the cast metal.
Casting sand should have good flowability to pack well during moulding to
produce good surface finish as well as exhibition of lower permeability to give
a better as-cast finish (Higgins, 1983). The quality of sand cast products are
high (Rzychon et al, 2008) as the sand mould can withstand high melting
temperature of the cast metal. As casting size increases, more gas is produced

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Jimoh, Y.A
in the mould, implying that the permeability of the sand must be higher. Green
sand is mostly used for large casting (450kg) while dry sand is usually for
smaller castings (25kg) (Burns, 1986). Silica sand (SiO2) is found in many
natural deposits, and is well suited for moulding purposes because of its ability
to withstand high temperatures without decomposition. Additionally, the silica
sand is low in cost, has an appreciable long life and exists in a wide range of
grain sizes and shapes. Although pure silica sand is not suitable in itself for
moulding and it has to be mixed with clay or carbon since it lacks binding
qualities.

The naturally bonded sand grains are normally coated with clay, which
becomes sticky when water is added to it. The clay in the sand is used to
cohesively bond sand particles giving it some binding strength. The resulting
sand-clay mixture thus has enough strength to hold the shape when pressed
against a pattern producing good sand casting products. In fact, Abolarin et al
(2007) produced some samples of brake disc and impeller blade using silica
sand without any additives and found that the cast yield was high with minimal
surface defects. Solenicki et al (2009) concluded that the knowledge of the
heating rates of sand moulds would help reduce the occurrence of defects
generated by internal stresses due to high operating temperature.

The Ilesha and Ilorin natural moulding sand deposits in south-west and middle
belt Nigeria respectively are adequately bonded with clay when quarried and
only water need be added to have an adequate moulding sand for non-ferrous
castings.

The need for the addition of gum Arabic as bonding materials as recommended
in Ademoh and Abdullah, (2009) is not required in the use of the natural
moulding sand with adequate clay and at optimum moulding water.

Naturally bonded moulding sands are found in various locations of the world
and the only challenge is the evaluation of the sand deposit for appropriate
grading, adequate amount of clay content and the correct proportion of
optimum water to be added for desirable foundry products. When sand is mixed
with the right quantity of water, the performance of sand casting is almost
equal or better than specially mixed green sand even with some form of
addition of binder. The large amount of organic material found in natural sands
prevents them from being sufficiently refractory for high temperature
applications in the moulding of high melting point metals and alloys.

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Jimoh, Y.A
In this research work, the mechanical properties of two natural moulding sand
deposits normally applied for foundry sand sourcing were investigated for their
suitability for use in sand casting of non-ferrous metals and in direct reflection
to optimum amount of water.

2. Experimental Procedure
2.1 Sand Cast Mould Preparation
Natural moulding sand deposits from two locations in Nigeria, Ilesha in the
South-West and Ilorin in the Middle belt were collected in large quantities. The
Ilesha sand was collected at a location in Aralopo junction along Akure-Ile Ife
highway, while that of Ilorin was along Asa Dam Road by the bank of River
Asa. The sand samples were wet sieved through a 2mm mesh size to remove
coarser particles than the finer grain size. The samples were vibrated through a
sieve shaker of 500μm continuously for 15 minutes. Clean water, in varying
percentages by volume was added to the prepared samples (135gm) after which
they were oven dried for 2 hours. The sieve sizes used were classified
according to the mesh numbers as presented in Table 1. Several specimens of
the cast moulding sand measuring 50mm diameter and 50mm thick were
prepared.

Table 1. Determination of grain fines number for the sand samples (AFS)
Mesh Multiplier Ilesha Ilorin
Retained, % Product Retained, % Product
1.44 mm 10 0 0 0 0
1.00mm 12 0.110 1.320 0.114 1.368
710μm 16 0.860 13.760 0.865 13.840
500μm 22 1.025 22.550 1.205 26.510
355μm 30 1.888 56.640 1.965 58.950
250μm 44 2.970 130.680 2.185 96.140
180μm 60 7.010 420.600 7.865 471.900
125μm 85 10.578 899.130 10.251 871.335
90μm 120 12.880 1545.600 12.508 1500.960
63μm 170 24.041 4086.970 25.387 4315.790
45μm 240 31.011 7442.640 31.562 7574.880
Cover Pan 350 7.627 2669.450 6.093 2132.550
Total 100.00 17289.340 100.0 17064.223

2.2 Experimental Specimens and Testing

The experimental tests carried out include green and dry compressive strengths,
shatter index, compactibility, and permeability tests. The green and dry
compressive strength tests were carried out on the standard foundry test

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Jimoh, Y.A
machine. Steadily increasing load was applied on the specimen (50mm
diameter and 50mm thick) until failure occurred and the load at which the
sample collapsed was recorded. Each of the samples was subjected to gradual
load under the universal sand-strength testing machine at the rate of 25kN/m2
in every 10 seconds. Samples for dry compressive strength were dried at 1100C
for 2 hours and cooled at a steady rate to room temperature.

To determine the shatter index, the specimen was allowed to fall freely from a
height of 1.83 metres onto a steel anvil. The toughness or plasticity was
determined by measuring the degree of disintegration of the specimen. The
compactability test was carried out in conjunction with a metric Sand Rammer.
This test was to measure the decrease in height of a riddled mass of sand under
the influence of a standard compacting force to measure the degree of temper
of sands.

Permeability, which is the ability of the sand mould to allow gas to pass
through it, was tested by passing air through the standard rammed specimen.
Standard air pressure of 9.8 x 102 N/m2 and 2000 ml of air were passed through
the specimen tube containing the specimen. The permeability test procedure
adopted was in accordance with the Ridsdale (2009) operating instructions.

3. Discussion of Results
3.1 Green and Dry Compression Strengths
The variation of water content with the values of green compression strength is
shown in Figure 1. Green compression strength increases with increase in
percentage water addition as is shown in Figure 1. Compressive strength
increases steadily from 33kN/m2 at 4% water reaching a maximum value of
50kN/m2 at 8% water content for Ilesha deposit. The maximum value of green
compression strength of 52kN/m2 was obtained at percentage water of 8% for
Ilorin deposits. Further increase in the percentage water addition above 8%
leads to a reduction in the compression strength for both locations. These
values reduce to 37kN/m2 to 38kN/m2 with water at 12% and 13% respectively
for Ilesha and Ilorin deposits. Decline in green compressive strength with
increase in water content suggests the presence of excess moisture in the sand
mould. The optimum water addition of 8% is adequate to obtain sound cast
product with Ilesha based on green sand property while it is 9%
correspondingly for the Ilorin sand.

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Jimoh, Y.A

57 ilorin deposit
ilesha deposit
53
Green compression strength (kN/m2)

49

45

41

37

33

29
3 5 7 9 11 13 15
Water, %

Figure 1 Green compression strength with % water addition

The dry compression strength increases with increase in water concentration

for both sand deposits with Ilesha sample having greater values at all moisture
level as shown in Figure 2. When mixed with 5% water, the dry compression
strengths are 150 kN/m2 and 195kN/m2 respectively for Ilorin and Ilesha. These
values increase to 365 kN/m2 and 317.5kN/m2 at 12% water addition
respectively for Ilesha and Ilorin samples. The increase in the dry compression
strength with increase in water content shows that the sand can absorb more
moisture. This indicates that the sand in dry condition can withstand the
pressure intensity of 300kN/m2 of the molten metal during the period of
solidification in the mould once the moulding water is at the optimum
condition. This makes the dry moulding sand to be more suitable for large
castings.

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Jimoh, Y.A

400
Dry compression strength

350

300
(kN/m )
2

250
ilorin deposit
200 ilesha deposit

150

100
2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Water, %

Figure 2 Dry compression strength with % water addition

3.2 Shatter index

With increase in water addition, the shatter index increases for both deposits as
is represented in Figure 3. With water content below 9%, the difference in the
shatter index for both samples becomes closer in values. Increasing water
addition beyond 9% increases the shatter index for both samples with Ilesha
sample having higher values than Ilorin deposit. A maximum value of 41was
obtained at water addition of 12% for Ilesha sample as compared to 40 for
Ilorin sample at water level of 13%. The increase in the shatter index with
increase in water content may be due to the fact that water activates the clay
and makes it to be toughened to resist being shattered. It also portrays further
the necessity to ensure that desirable control should be put in place to make
sure that the moulding water is at the optimum as much as practicable when
employing the sands for metal casting.

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Jimoh, Y.A
42
Shater index (%) 41
40
ilo rin depo sit
39 ilesha depo sit
38
37
36
35
34
3 5 7 9 11 13 15
Water, %
Figure 3 Effect of % w ater addition on the shatter index

3.3 Compactibility
Figure 4 shows that increasing the percentage water addition correspond to an
increase in the compactibility of the sand for both locations. From the figure,
the Ilesha deposit records higher values of 35.8% at 12% water addition
compared to 32.8% recorded for Ilorin at 13% water addition. The Ilesha
sample shows a higher value in compactibility number than the Ilorin sample
by about 3.0%.

40

38
Compactibility (%)

36

34

32

30
ilorin deposit
28 ilesha deposit

26
2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Water, %

Figure 4 Effect of % water addition on the compactibility of casting sand

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Jimoh, Y.A

3.4 Permeability
Figure 5 represents the effect of water content on the permeability of the
natural moulding sand deposits. With increase in percentage water, the green
permeability decreases from a maximum of 58.75cm3/min at water addition of
4% to 42.5cm3/min at 12% water addition for the Ilesha sand deposit. This
pattern is also exhibited for Ilorin deposit but with a higher value of
permeability of 60cm3/min at water level of 5%, and decreasing to 45cm3/min
at 13% water addition. This behaviour could be attributable to the fact that
water acts as blockage to the air pores in the sand thereby impeding the free
passage of air through the sand. As water content increases, the excess moisture
available occupies the pores in the sand mould thus, leading to a corresponding
decrease in the permeability of the sand. The properties exhibited by both
samples are in agreement with the America Foundrymen Standard (AFS)
shown in Table 2.

65

60
Permeability (cm 3/min)

ilorin deposit
ilesha deposit
55

50

45

40
2 4 6 8 10 12 14

Water, %

Figure 5 Effect % water addition on the permeability numbers

Table 2. Standard properties of casting sand (Dieter, 1966)

Metal Green Dry Compressive Permeability,

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Jimoh, Y.A
Compressive Strength, kN/m2 No
Strength, kN/m2
Heavy Steel 70-85 1000-2000 130-300
Light Steel 70-85 400-1000 125-200
Heavy Grey Iron 70-105 350-800 70-120
Aluminium 50-70 200-550 10-30
Brass and Bronze 55-85 200-860 15-40
Light Grey Iron 50-85 200-550 20-50
Malleable Iron 45-55 210-550 20-60
Medium Grey Iron 70-105 350-800 40-80
Source: (Ademoh, 2009)

3.5 Evaluation of the Sand for Metal Casting

In order to evaluate the adequacy of the natural moulding sand, comparison of
the values of the properties obtained of the two sands with the standard
applications was carried out. The obtained values of green and dry compression
strengths, the shatter index, compactibilty number and permeability number
from the two sands as presented in Table 3 agree with the standard values when
compared with Table 2. This makes the natural moulding sands in these two
locations in Nigeria appropriate for sand casting of non-ferrous metals when
mixed with the correct amount of water.

Table 3. Mechanical properties of Ilorin and Ilesha

natural moulding sands
Property Ilorin sand Ilesha sand deposit,
deposit, 8% Water
9% Water
Green Compressive Strength, kN/m2 52 50
Dry Compressive Strength, kN/m2 285 300
Shatter Index, % 37 37
Compactibilty, % 31 33
Permeability, No 47.5 50

4. Conclusion
The results of the investigation shows that the natural moulding sands in the
two locations in Nigeria exhibit good properties for casting of non-ferrous
metals. Addition of water up to 8% and 9% to the Ilesha and Ilorin moulding
sand respectively possess high compressive strength and compactibility aand
would produce sound castings. There is close agreement in the values of green
and dry compression strengths, shatter index, compactibility and permeability
obtained as compared with the established values.

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5. Acknowledgement
The authors wish to acknowledge the contributions of Terebo Moyo and
Kareem I. O. for their initial contributions to this work.

6. References
Abolarin M.S., Olugboji, O.A., and Ogunwole, O.A., (2007), Casting of brake
disc and impeller from aluminium scrap using silica sand, Electronic Journal of
Practices and Technologies, Vol. 6, No. 10, pp145-150.

Ademoh, N.A. and Abdullahi A.T., (2009), Assessment of foundry properties

of steel casting sand moulds bonded with the grade 4 Nigerian acacia species
(gum Arabic), International Journal of Physical Sciences, Vol. 4 No. 4, pp238-
241.

AFS User’s Guide, (2009), AF3, AFS Data Storage, Version 8.1, EPA-456\B-
95-001;
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/publications/data/system/air/af3.pdf
accessed on Nov. 9 2009.

Burns T. A., (1986), The Fosesco Foundryman’s Handbook, 9th Edition,

Pergamon Press, Oxford.

Dieter, H.W., (1966), Foundry Core Practice, 3rd Edition, American

Foundrymen’s Society, Des Plaines, pp2-154.

Higgins Raymon A., (1983), Engineering Metallurgy Part I: Applied Physical

Metallurgy, 6th Edition, ELBS with Edward Arnold, UK.

Ridsdale and Ridsdale D., (2009), Foundry sand testing equipment operating
instructions (Metric), http://www.basrid.co.uk/metric_OIM.pdf accessed on
November 9 2009.

Rzychon, T., Kielbus, A., and Szala, J., (2008), Microstructure and fluidity of
sand cast ZRE1 alloy, Journal of Achievements in Materials and Manufacturing
Engineering, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp135-138.

Solenicki, G., Budie I., and Ciglar, D., (2009), Determination of thermal
conductivity in foundry mould mixtures, METABK, Vol. 49 No. 1, pp 3-7.

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