Solidification in Casting

(a) Cooling curve for pure metals. Note that

freezing takes place at a constant temperature.
(b) Density of metal as a function of time

• Metals have a sharp freezing point while alloys freeze over a range of temperature
• Freezing range: the range over which alloy solidify. Freezing range determines the liquid-
solid contraction/ shrinkage. Larger the freezing range, greater the contraction.
• The riser fills in more liquid metal to compensate for the shrinkage
• For higher contraction, higher amount of risering needs to be provided
 Solidification in Casting
• Crystals require an initial surface to grow
• They “nucleate” and often grow in the
shape of dendrites
• Liquids need to be cooled below their
freezing point, as some energy is needed
for creating the new surfaces for the
crystals
• One can add particles for adding surfaces
• In casting, mold wall acts as the surface
for crystal nucleation

Temperature vs composition diagram for a binary alloy

2
 Solidification in Alloys

(a) columnar dendritic

(b) equiaxed dendritic
(c) equiaxed nondendritic

• If there is low thermal gradient throughout the mold, dendrites may start to form away
from the mold wall (or simultaneously everywhere). In this case voids and defects may be
formed and structure may shrink along center line.
• To ensure that solidification starts at the wall, chilled molds are used.

Schematic illustration of alloy solidification with increasing time (in sec)

 Solidification in Alloys
SS without SS with
inoculant inoculant

• Solid solutions (alloys) typically have dendritic growth near

cast walls but equiaxed zone in the center
• One can convert columnar zone to equiaxed zone by
adding crystal nucleating agents or inoculants

Schematic illustration of three cast structures of metals solidified in a square mold:

(a) pure metal; (b) solid-solution alloys; and (c) structure obtained by using inoculants.
 Investment Casting

Slurry: Ceramic slurry, typically composed of colloidal silica, zircon, fused silica etc.
Stucco: Similar to plaster

Sequence of operations in investment casting process.

 Single Crystal Casting
• Alloy solidification leads to grain boundary formation, which make the
material weak
• One can heat the ceramic mold (to prevent sudden cooling)
• Mold can be cooled only from one side for directional crystals growth
• Single crystals can also be grown by creating a corkscrew type
constriction, which allows only one crystal inside
• Control of crystal growth rate and temperature control is very important

Zhu et al.,
Materials 2019, 12(10