Research Article

Advances in Mechanical Engineering

2018, Vol. 10(8) 1–12
Ó The Author(s) 2018
Design of a gate system and riser DOI: 10.1177/1687814018795045
journals.sagepub.com/home/ade
optimization for turbine housing and
the experimentation and simulation of
a sand casting process

Hyung-Yoon Seo1, Chul-Kyu Jin2 and Chung-Gil Kang3

Abstract
The optimum gating system for manufacturing turbine housing is designed in this study, and a heater as heat source is
provided to the riser, attempting to reduce its size. In the case where the runner is divided into two branches, a symme-
trical gating system is adopted so that the two products could be produced in one process. Furthermore, cross-sectional
shapes of the sprue, runner, and gate are designed by setting the sprue:runner:gate ratio at 1:0.9:0.6. A casting analysis is
then conducted to investigate the effects of shape of the riser, sleeve material, temperature of the heater, and provision
of insulation material at the top of the riser. The conditions obtained from the analysis are applied to the experiment.
Hot spot defects calculated by casting simulation are reduced when sand sleeve material, straight type riser, open top
sleeve, and more than 600°C of heater temperature are used. It is possible to produce a casting with almost no surface
defects by adopting a riser with a size of 10–20 mm and a heater of 600°C–700°C. A casting recovery rate of 80% is
achieved and, regarding mechanical properties, its tensile strength is 534 MPa, its elongation rate is 9%, and its Brinell
hardness is 170 HB.

Keywords
Sand casting, gate design, casting simulation, turbine housing, riser, ductile cast iron

Date received: 8 February 2018; accepted: 25 July 2018

Handling Editor: Jia-Jang Wu

Introduction stainless steel is used for the turbine housing of gasoline

engines. It is not possible to fabricate a turbine housing
A turbocharger system is a device that improves the through plastic working, and therefore, casting
charging efficiency of a mixed gas by converting the
pressure energy from the exhaust gas of an engine into
rotatory power for a turbine, thus improving engine 1
Department of Computer Software Engineering, Changshin University,
output and fuel efficiency. The exhaust gas that is gen- Changwon, South Korea
2
erated from an internal combustion engine is trans- School of Mechanical Engineering, Kyungnam University, Changwon,
ferred to the turbine, and the turbine wheel rotates by South Korea
3
School of Mechanical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan,
the pressure of the exhaust gas. The turbine and com- South Korea
pressor wheels are connected through an axis; thus, the
rotatory force of the turbine wheel acts as a rotatory Corresponding author:
force for the compressor.1,2 Chul-Kyu Jin, School of Mechanical Engineering, Kyungnam University, 7
Kyungnamdaehak-ro, Masanhappo-gu, Changwon 51767,
Spheroidal graphite cast iron is used as the material
Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea.
for the turbine housing of diesel engines, while austenite Email: cool3243@kyungnam.ac.kr

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open-access-at-sage).
2 Advances in Mechanical Engineering
Figure 1. 3D modeling of turbocharger housing (unit: mm): (a) front view, (b) back view, and (c) section view.
technology is used. The temperature of the exhaust gas
exceeds 800°C, and thus, sand casting is employed.1–3
The volume of a currently produced turbine housing
is considerably lower than the sum of the volumes of
the sprue and riser. In addition, a turbine housing is
tube-shaped, with a hollow interior, and thus, the riser
is far heavier than the casting product. Therefore, the
riser solidifies much later than the casting product when
the molten metal is flowed into the cavity, thereby ham-
pering production speed. The housing of a turbine has
an irregular shape, with a thickness of less than 10 mm.
This leads to the generation of many defects, thus add-
ing challenges to the manufacturing process. Therefore,
turbine housings are normally being cast with a recov-
ery rate in the range of 45%–50%.4–8
The high-silicon series spheroidal graphite cast
iron is easily cast and has a low manufacturing cost;
therefore, it is used in exhaust manifolds and turbine
housings, which are operated in a high-temperature
environment. However, the high-silicon series spheroi-
dal graphite cast iron has poor thermal resistance and
requires the incorporation of an amount of chiller dur-
ing casting for ensuring that a forming defect does not
occur. Hence, it is difficult to use high-silicon series
spheroidal graphite cast iron for products with a thick-
ness of less than 10 mm.4,5,9,10
In this study, a plan to design a gating system for
turbine housing and improve recovery rate with a sand
casting process is proposed. An optimal gating system
for turbine housing casting was designed, and a heater
as heat source was provided to the riser, attempting to
reduce its size. To minimize the volume of the riser, a
riser heating method was developed, which uses a hea-
ter to induce delay in the solidification of the molten
metal. A casting analysis was then conducted to investi-
gate the effects of shape of the riser, sleeve material,
temperature of the heater, and provision of insulation
material at the top of the riser. The conditions obtained
from the analysis results were applied to the experi-
ment. Brinell hardness test for the casted product and
the tensile test for casted Y-block were performed as
part of the analysis of physical properties.
Design of gating system
The turbine housing used in diesel engines receives
exhaust gas with a temperature of over 800°C.
Therefore, it is manufactured with a sand casting pro-
cess for spheroidal graphite cast iron. The drawing of
the designed turbine housing for diesel engines is shown
in Figure 1. The model, wherein a gating system was
attached on two turbine housings, is shown in Figure 2.
This study designs the gating system with a process that
could produce two turbine housings by one casting
process. This gating system has runners and gates, two
of each, at the left and right. The shape of the gating
system at the left and right is symmetrical, having the
same shape. The molten metal is branched into two
paths along the runners, at the left and right sides,
while passing through the runner, and it is injected into
the turbine housing through the gate.
Because cast iron has a density of 7.8 g/cm3, which is
relatively higher than that of other metals, a gating sys-
tem of the compression type, wherein the cross-
sectional area of the sprue is the largest and that of the
gate is the smallest, was adopted. The sprue:runner:gate
(SRG) ratio depending on the cross-sectional area was
set to 1:0.9:0.6. As the molten metal advanced to the
gate after passing through the runner, the flow rate and
pressure energy increased. Once the minimum cross-
sectional area necessary to inject the molten metal into
the cavity of the mold was decided, the cross-sectional
areas of sprue, runner, and gate could be calculated.
Equation (1) was used to calculate a minimum cross-
sectional area.11 The calculated minimum cross-
sectional area was 384.93 mm2
Seo et al. 3

Figure 3. Section view of runner and gate (unit: mm).

Figure 2. Gating system for casting of turbine housing (unit:
mm).
sprue calculated from the above equation was
28.58 mm. The diameter of the sprue was set to 30 mm
W to make mold preparation convenient. The cross-
A= pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ð1Þ
trC 2ghe sectional area of the runner calculated from equation
(5) was 577.40 mm2, which was the total cross-sectional
In this equation, W is the weight of the casting prod-
area of the runner. The cross-sectional area of one gate
uct, t is the injection time of the molten metal, r is the
calculated from equation (6) was 96.2 mm2 and the
density of the molten metal, C is the flow coefficient, g
total cross-sectional area of gate was 384.8 mm2.
is the gravity acceleration, and he is the effective height.
The cross-sectional shape of the runner and gate was
The injection time of the molten metal was calcu-
designed from the theoretically calculated cross-
lated from the empirical formula of equation (2),12 and
sectional area. Figure 3 shows the cross-sectional shape
the determined injection time was 5.73 s
of the runner and gate. The thickness of the runner was
pffiffiffiffiffi 14 mm, while the height of the gate was 9 mm. The
t = W ð0:39595logW + 2:4376Þ ð2Þ
width of the runner and the gate was 12 mm. A gradi-
The effective height was calculated from equation ent of 5° was set to restrict the turbulent flow of the
(3)12 and the obtained effective height was 106.4 mm molten metal and to easily release the product after
solidification. The cross-sectional area of the runner,
h2t calculated from the designed cross-sectional shape, was
he = hs  ð3Þ 149.6 mm2. This value was for one cross-sectional area
2ðht + hb Þ
of the runner; thus, the total cross-sectional area for
Here, hs is the sprue length from the top of the sprue the four runners was 598.5 mm2. The area per gate cal-
till the parting line of the mold, ht is the distance from culated from the designed cross-sectional shape of the
the parting line till the top of the casting, and hb is the gate was 100.1 mm2. The cross-sectional areas for
distance from the parting line till the bottom of the sprue, runner, and gate were designed slightly smaller
casting. than the areas calculated from the equations. The SRG
The speed of the molten metal flow into the gate that ratio of the designed gating system was 1:0.85:0.57. The
was calculated from the effective height was around lengths of the runner and gate were designed as short
1.44 m/s. as possible to raise the recovery rate. The volume of
The cross-section areas of sprue, runner, and gate the gating system was 145,067 mm3 and its weight was
were calculated from equations (4)–(6),12 respectively 1.14 kg.
Figure 4 shows the three types of risers that would
S
As = A ð4Þ be adopted in the turbine housing. The shapes of the
G riser were linear, taper, and step. The optimum condi-
R tion was obtained from the solidification analysis. The
AR = A ð5Þ
G riser was installed at the portion where the thickness of
A the product was the largest. The height of the riser was
AG = ð6Þ 83 mm, the same as that of the sprue. One riser was
NG
installed at the left turbine housing, while another was
Here, S, R, and G are SRG ratio, while NG is the installed at the right turbine housing. The volume of the
number of the gate. linear riser was 52,124 mm3 and its weight was 0.410 kg.
The cross-sectional area of the sprue calculated from The volume of the taper type riser was 85.330 mm3,
equation (4) was 641.56 mm2, and the diameter of the while its weight was 0.671 kg. Meanwhile, the volume
4 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Figure 5. Construction of riser heating system for riser size

minimizing.
Figure 4. Riser shape (unit: mm): (a) straight type, (b) taper
type, and (c) step type. without top insulation—to increase the recovery rate of
the product. The types of riser are straight, taper, and
of the step type riser was 108,252 mm3 and its weight step. The sleeve materials are steel and sand. The tem-
was 0.799 kg. peratures of the heater are 400°C, 500°C, and 600°C.
The analysis was carried out for a total of seven con-
ditions. CAE conditions 1 and 2 are the comparisons
Casting simulation regarding sleeve materials, while conditions 3 and 4 are
Condition of simulation the comparisons for the implementation of top insula-
tion. Conditions 5, 6, and 7 refer to the comparisons for
If the size of the riser is large, it appropriately compen-
heater temperatures.
sates shrinkage during the solidification of the casting
The recovery rate is defined as the value obtained by
and ultimately reduces defects, but the recovery rate
dividing the weight of the casting by the sum of the weight
would be reduced. In order to increase the recovery
of the gating system, riser, and casting product; that is, as
rate, the size of the riser should be diminished.
the weight of the gating system and riser is decreased, the
However, a small riser would result in quick solidifica-
recovery rate would be increased. When the linear riser
tion by heat transfer to the outer side and, conse-
was used, the recovery rate was 83%, while with the taper
quently, the riser would not perform its role properly.
type riser, the recovery rate became 81%. With the step
The size of the riser was reduced to raise the recovery
type riser, the recovery rate was 79%, which was the low-
rate, and heaters were installed around the riser.
est among the three tested risers.
Because the heaters heated up the riser while the cast-
Table 2 shows the conditions of sand casting simula-
ing was solidified, the riser could be solidified later than
tion with MAGMA software. The temperature of the
the casting even if the size of the riser was small.
mold (sand) was set to 20°C. The heat transfer coeffi-
Figure 5 presents the cut area of the heating system
cient between the casting and sand mold was calculated
for the riser. It includes a sleeve, top insulation, and
by the temperature difference method. The medium
heater near the riser, which maintain the necessary tem-
value was about 300 W/(m2 K).
perature. Table 1 presents the computer-aided engi-
Casting simulation was conducted with the
neering (CAE) condition to determine gating system.
MAGMA 5 software (GmbH, Aachen, Germany).
This investigation evaluated the effects of riser type,
MAGMA’s mesh partitioning method is the finite
heater temperature, and sleeve material–with and

Table 1. Simulation conditions to determine gating system.

CAE condition 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Riser type Straight Straight Taper Taper Step Step Step

Sleeve material Steel Sand Sand Sand Sand Sand Sand
Heater temperature (°C) 700 700 700 700 400 500 600
Top insulation X X O X O O O
Recovery 83 83 81 81 79 79 79
rate (%)
Seo et al.
Table 2. Simulation conditions of sand casting.
Pouring temperature 1400°C
Sand temperature 20°C
Solidus of melt 1166°C
Liquidus of melt 1169°C
Latent heat 257 kJ/kg
Heat transfer coefficient 300 W/(m2 K)
(between casting and sand mold)
volume method (FVM). The results were 907,350
meshes on the metal cell and 18,875,930 meshes on the
control volume, which is the material group.
Results of simulation
Figure 6 illustrates the filling mode while the molten
metal was charged into the cavity of the mold. The
transparent part displays the condition where the mol-
ten metal was not filled into the cavity, while the yellow
portion shows the molten metal filled into it. The per-
centage value refers to the volume of the molten metal
filled into the cavity, while the time shows the duration
of filling of the molten metal. When the molten metal
was filled at 25%, it was injected from the sprue,
passed through the gate, and flown into the product;
there would be turbulence to some extent. Because the
molten metal inflow from the sprue was freely dropped,
the speed of inflow into the gate could be considerably
high, resulting in a significant turbulence. The turbu-
lence was not substantial because the location of the
gate was 30 mm from the bottom of the sprue. When
the molten metal touched the bottom of the runner, the
Figure 6. Filling behavior of turbine housing for sand casting.
5
speed was reduced and the molten metal could be flown
into the gate. The filling speed of the molten metal at
the gate, calculated from the equation, was 1.44 m/s.
When the molten metal was charged at 55% into the
cavity, the turbulent flow was converted into laminar
flow, and then the flow would be stabilized. The time
to fill the molten metal at 100% was 5.186 s, which was
faster than the calculated value (5.73 s) by 0.544 s.
When the molten metal having a temperature of
1400°C was completely filled into the cavity, there was
a temperature loss from the surface of the product at
around 90°C. Because the theoretical temperature of
the liquid phase line of the Gray Casting Ductile
(GCD) 600 material was 1169°C after the molten metal
was completely filled into the mold cavity, solidifica-
tion was executed while the molten metal was static.
Therefore, the designed gating system could be suitable
for the casting process of turbine housings.
The riser types included a straight type, which was
adopted in conditions 1 and 2, as given in Table 1, and
a taper type, which was adopted in conditions 3 and 4.
The sleeve materials included steel, which was adopted
for condition 1, and sand, which was adopted for con-
ditions 2 to 4. The heater temperature was maintained
at 700°C. In addition, the insulation material at the top
of the riser was adopted only for condition 3. The
pouring temperature of casting (GCD 600 in the
MAGMA database) was 1400°C. The solid and liquid
temperatures of GCD 600 were 1166°C and 1169°C,
respectively.
Figure 7 shows the solidification analyses for condi-
tion 1 (steel sleeve) and condition 2 (sand sleeve). With
respect to condition 1, which had steel as the heating
material for the riser and a solidification rate of
6 Advances in Mechanical Engineering
Figure 7. Solidification analysis for sleeve materials: (a) steel and (b) sand.
Figure 8. Relationship between solidification rate and time
according to sleeve material (CAE condition 1: steel, CAE
condition 2: sand).
approximately 10%, the solidification of the riser was
almost completed at a lower temperature than the
solid-phase temperature of 1166°C, as shown in Figure
7(a). However, with respect to condition 2, which had
sand as the heating material for the riser, the riser and
product were not isolated till a solidification rate of
approximately 70%, as shown in Figure 7(b); thus, the
sand sleeve in condition 2 could yield a better riser
effect than the steel sleeve. Therefore, the sand sleeve
exhibited a better performance with a good recovery
rate when compared with the steel sleeve. Figure 8
depicts the solidification rate relative to solidification
time for conditions 1 and 2. The increase in solidifica-
tion time when a sand sleeve was used exceeded that of
the steel sleeve, although the solidification modes were
almost identical. When a sand sleeve was used, the soli-
dification of the riser was delayed, and this occurred
after riser solidification with a steel sleeve. Figure 9
shows the distribution of the hot spot, calculated from
the solidification analysis of the product and the riser,
and analyzed under conditions 1 and 2. Both models
show the solidification modes independently, with the
product and riser parts separated. The final solidified
portion is presented inside the product expecting a
shrinkage defect.
Figure 10 includes the solidification analysis results
of condition 3 (top insulation) and condition 4 (no top
insulation). As shown in Figure 10(a), solidification pro-
gresses toward the end of the riser if there is insulation
at that place. When the solidification rate corresponded
to 60%, there was a difference in the solidification pat-
tern based on the presence of insulation material at the
top of the riser, as shown in Figure 10. Figure 11 shows
the solidification rate relative to the solidification time
for conditions 3 and 4. The solidification modes were
similar with respect to solidification time. However,
when the insulation material was applied at the top of
the riser (condition 3), the solidification was a little
faster than without the insulation material (condition
4). Figure 12 depicts the hot spot distribution for condi-
tions 3 and 4. The calculation results under conditions 3
and 4 indicated that the product and riser were sepa-
rated and solidified independently, and the final solidi-
fied part existed inside the product with the expectation
of a shrinkage defect.
Figure 13 shows the solidification results for condi-
tions 5 (Heater temperature: 400°C), 6 (Heater tem-
perature: 500°C), and 7 (Heater temperature: 600°C). A
step-shape riser and a sand sleeve were used. Insulation
Seo et al. 7

Figure 9. Hot spot phenomenon analysis for sleeve materials: (a) steel and (b) sand.

Figure 10. Solidification analysis (a) with and (b) without top insulation.

materials were applied at the top of all risers. As shown

in Figure 13, in the cases where the solidification rates
corresponded to 10% and 30%, with the sand sleeve,
the riser temperature increased as the heater tempera-
ture increased. With respect to the overall solidification
mode, it moved from the product to the end of the riser,
as shown in Figure 13. Therefore, in the case of the
sand sleeve, the solidification progressed from the prod-
uct to the end of the riser, even if the heater tempera-
ture decreased, and thus the molten metal that was
short in the product part could be fed by the riser.
Figure 14 shows the solidification rate relative to time
in conditions 5, 6, and 7. The overall solidification
modes exhibited similar curves. The solidification time
was almost the same, with a solidification rate of 70%,
until approximately 200 s. However, the solidification Figure 11. Relationship between solidification rate and time
time for the same solidification rate increased as tem- with (CAE condition 3) and without (CAE condition 4) top
perature increased in the sand sleeve and heater. The insulation.
8 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Figure 12. Hot spot phenomenon analysis (a) with and (b) without top insulation.

Figure 13. Solidification analysis for heater temperature: (a) 400°C, (b) 500°C, and (c) 600°C.

final solidification time increased and corresponded to

Figure 14. Relationship between solidification rate and time
according to heater temperature (CAE condition 5: 400°C, CAE
condition 6: 500°C, and CAE condition 7: 600°C).
615 s for condition 5, 737 s for condition 6, and 840 s
for condition 7. This was because the heater tempera-
ture increased in such a manner that final solidification
was delayed in the case of the sand sleeve. Therefore, it
is necessary to reduce the heater temperature for the
sand sleeve. In addition, condition 5 would be the most
beneficial from the energy saving aspect. Figure 15
depicts the hot spot distribution calculated using condi-
tions 5, 6, and 7. A hot spot under condition 5 is gener-
ated at the boundary of the riser, and the product
below the riser creates a shrinkage defect. However, in
the cases of condition 6 (heater temperature at 500°C)
and condition 7 (heater temperature corresponding to
600°C), solidification progressed from the product to
the riser if the heating temperature for the sand sleeve
increased, and the hot spot in the product decreased.
Therefore, the most favorable condition to remove the
shrinkage defect inside the product corresponded to
Seo et al. 9

Figure 15. Hot spot phenomenon for heater temperature: (a) 400°C, (b) 500°C, and (c) 600°C.

condition 7, with a heater temperature of 600°C and Table 3. Experimental conditions.

the adoption of a step type riser.
Experimental CAE Heater Riser Note
condition condition type
Left Right
Experiment
1 2 O X Straight Riser diameter Ø10
Condition of experiment 2 2 O X Straight Riser diameter Ø20
Spheroidal graphite cast iron GCD 600 molten metal, 3 2 O X Straight Riser diameter Ø30
4 2 O O Straight Riser diameter Ø20
which is used in turbine housing, was prepared to per-
5 2 X X Straight Riser diameter Ø20
form the casting experiment. Table 3 lists the experi- 6 5 O X Step
mental conditions for manufacturing the turbine 7 6 O X Step
housing in order to verify the mold design that was 8 7 O X Step
proposed in the theoretical analysis. Experimental con-
CAE: computer-aided engineering.
ditions 1 to 3 comprised different linear risers, with
heaters only at the left side. Condition 4 comprised a
linear riser having a diameter of 20 mm, with heaters at The key parameters for the experiments were set with
the left and right sides. Condition 5 refers to the linear the diameter of the riser (10–30 mm), heating provision
type riser having a diameter of 20 mm, which was used for the riser, and temperatures of the heater at 400°C,
without a heater at both the left and right sides. 500°C, 600°C, and 700°C. Sleeve temperature means
Conditions 6 to 8 comprised different heater tempera- the temperature that reaches the established tempera-
tures, with only one heater at the left side on the step ture of the heater. The mold design was verified using
type riser. the commercial S/W of MAGMA.
10
Figure 16. 30-mm-diameter heating equipment for riser
temperature control with sand sleeve.
Figure 17. Sand mold of turbine housing: (a) core mold for
turbine housing and (b) casting system mold.
Figure 16 depicts the heating system, where the hea-
ter was installed on the sand sleeve when the diameter
of the riser corresponded to 30 mm. Figure 17 shows
the sand casting mold assembly for the turbine housing
experiment. The two-core mold for the turbine housing
was assembled in the casting system mold. The heater
was installed on the product at the right side, while the
assembled exterior of the mold without a heater is
shown at the left side. Sand coated with hardened mate-
rial was used as the mold material.
Results of experiment
Table 4 presents the experimental results for the turbine
housing fabricated by sand casting. Experimental con-
ditions for conditions 1–5 present the surface character-
istics of the product based on the heating of the riser
when the diameter of the riser corresponded to the
range of 10–30 mm. A forming ( ) and surface defect
( ) were not observed if the sleeve that heated the riser
Advances in Mechanical Engineering
Table 4. Experimental results of sand casting.
Experimental Experimental Experimental Shrinkage size
condition result recovery rate (max)
Left Right
1  80 0.99 (heater),
11.23 (no heater)
2  76
3 74
4   80 3.42 (heater)
5 72
6 75 4.91 (heater),
18.62 (no heater)
7 79 No defect
8  75 No defect
: without defect; : surface micro defect; : unfilling; : mold
collapse.
was heated to 700°C (conditions 1–4). However, the
surface defects were obvious when the riser was heated
to 400°C and 500°C, as shown in conditions 5 and 6.
When the effect of the arrangement of the cavity was
examined, there was no defect found from the cavity
heated to 700°C, irrespective of its arrangement in con-
ditions 1–4. Furthermore, no-forming defect was gener-
ated in the cavity (condition 5) where heating was not
implemented. In conditions 6 and 7, micro-surface
defects were found from the surface of the cavity where
riser was heated to 400°C and 500°C. In contrast, no
forming occurred from the cavity without heating. In
condition 8, the cavity heated to 600°C did not generate
any defects. The above experimental results indicated
that when the recovery rate was over 70%, a riser with
a diameter in the range of 20–30 mm and temperature
exceeding 600°C were necessary conditions for optimal
results. When the diameter of the riser corresponded to
30 mm and riser temperature abruptly increased to
700°C, the inner wall of the riser became brittle, leading
to collapse ( ).
The recovery rates of the design and the experiment
differed. The reason for the difference could be attrib-
uted to the working environment, wherein an accurate
quantity of the molten metal could not be controlled,
owing to worker errors.
Figure 18 shows two turbine housing parts simulta-
neously manufactured by a one-time injection. A filling
phenomenon was not found in the part in which heat-
ing was not implemented in the riser (photograph at the
left). Therefore, it is necessary to heat the riser to obtain
a product with a recovery rate that exceeds 70%.
Table 5 provides the mechanical properties of the
turbine housing. Tensile test specimens were prepared
per the specifications in ASTM E8M. These specimens
were subjected to heat treatment at 950°C for 2 h.
Following austenization, the specimens were cooled
inside an electric oven at 550°C for 2 h. The tensile
Seo et al. 11

solidification than iron. When the temperature

of the heater was set at 600°C, the hot spot
defect was reduced. In addition, the hot spot
defect was decreased if insulation material at
the top of the heater was not applied.
2. A good casting product with almost no surface
defects could be obtained by implementing a
heater at 600°C–700°C on the riser, with dia-
meters between 10 and 20 mm. When a heater
at 700°C was implemented on the riser having a
diameter of 30 mm, the model would be col-
lapsed. On the contrary, if the temperature of
the heater was lower than 600°C, a casting
defect, such as having no filling or a large sur-
face defect, was generated.
3. Hot spot distribution calculated by MAGMA
soft was reduced when sand sleeve material,
straight type riser, open top sleeve, and more
than 600°C of heater temperature were
applied.
4. The optimized parameters for manufacturing
turbine housing without defects are a diameter
of Ø20 of the straight type riser, sand sleeve,
and 700°C of the heater temperature. An 80%
recovery rate of the castings is obtained from
these parameters.

Figure 18. The turbine housing casted by experiment
condition 1: (a) plan view, (b) front view, and (c) back view.
Table 5. Mechanical properties of turbocharger housing part.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article.

Tensile Elongation (%) Brinell

strength (MPa) hardness (HB)
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial sup-
As cast 534 6 8 861 170 6 5 port for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
Heat 615 6 12 5 6 0.5 217 6 7 article: This work was supported by the National Research
treatment Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean
government (MSIP) through the GCRC-SOP (No. 2011-
0030013). This work was also supported by the National
strength, elongation, and Brinell hardness were mea-
Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the
sured as 534 MPa, 8%, and 170 HB, respectively. These Korea government (MSIT) (No.2017R1A2B4007884). This
values changed after the heat treatment, and the tensile work was also supported by the National Research
strength, elongation, and Brinell hardness then corre- Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Korean
sponded to 615 MPa, 5%, and 217 HB, respectively. Government (NRF-2017R1C1B5017242).

Conclusion
A gating system was designed to cast a turbine housing.
A cylindrical heater was adopted to minimize the size of
the riser. The obtained results are summarized below:
1. From the casting analysis, the linear and taper-
shaped risers were found effective in delaying
solidification. Furthermore, as a material
for sleeve, sand was better for delaying
ORCID iD
Chul-Kyu Jin https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3965-2693
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