LECTURE 6

Riser Design

▪ Riser is extra metal that is separated from the casting

and re-melted to make more castings
▪ To minimize waste in the unit operation, it is desirable
for the volume of metal in the riser to be a minimum
▪ Since the shape of the riser is normally designed to
maximize the V/A ratio, this allows riser area to be
reduced to the minimum possible value as compared
to the casting.
 Solidification Shrinkage
Major three stages in shrinkage:
(i)Contraction of liquid before solidification during cooling
(ii)Contraction during liquid to solid phase change
(iii)Contraction of solid metal during cooling to room temperature
Stage 1: The molten metal is poured into the mould container.
Stage 2: Solidification front has started at the mold wall. The level
of liquid metal has reduced at the open surface due to liquid
contraction. The amount of liquid contraction is app. 0.5%.
Stage 3: Two effects are seen in this stage.
 Numerical
A flat plate is to be cast in an open mold whose bottom has a rectangular shape
that is 150 mm  250 mm. A total of 1,000,000 mm3 of molten aluminum is
poured into the mold. Solidification shrinkage is known to be 6.0%, which is a
volumetric contraction, not a linear contraction. Assume that the linear
shrinkage due to thermal contraction after solidification is 1.3% for each
dimension. If the availability of molten metal in the mold allows the rectangular
shape of the cast plate to maintain its 150 mm  250 mm dimensions until
solidification is completed, determine the final dimensions of the plate.
Solution: The initial volume of liquid metal = 1,000,000 mm3. When poured into the mold it
takes the shape of the open mold, which is 150 mm  250 mm square, or 37,500 mm2. The
starting height of the molten metal is 1,000,000 / 37,500 = 26.67 mm.
Volumetric solidification shrinkage is 6%, so when the aluminum solidifies its volume =
1,000,000(0.94) = 940,000 mm3. Because its base still measures 150 mm  250 mm due to the
flow of liquid metal before solidification, its height has been reduced to 940,000 / 37,500 =
25.07 mm.
Thermal contraction causes a further shrinkage of 1.3%. Thus the final dimensions of the plate
are 150(0.987)  250(0.987)  25.07(0.987) = 148.05 mm  246.75 mm  24.74 mm.
 Directional Solidification

Directional solidification is achieved using

Chvorinov's Rule to design the casting, its
orientation in the mold, and the riser system that
feeds it
▪ Locate and isolate sections of the casting with
lower V/A ratios away from riser, to enable
freezing in these regions first
▪ And the liquid metal supply for the rest of the
casting remains open
 Ways to Achieve Directional Solidification

Method 1: Providing risers

For example, the regions of the cast with lower V/A ratios should
be placed far away from the riser location. Solidification will start
from these locations and it will progress towards the riser location
where bulkier sections of the cast are present. Hence the bulkier
sections will continually received molten metal from the risers till
freezing.

Method 2: Providing chills: Chills can be provided at

appropriate locations in order to have rapid solidification at those
points. Internal and external chills can be provided
 Chills
• The chills are used to provide progressive solidification and to avoid the
shrinkage cavities. These are large heat sinks.
• When the geometry of the molding cavity prevents solidification from
occurring naturally, a chill can be strategically placed to help promote it.
• Whenever the thickness of the walls of the casting is unequal, the chills
are placed close to the wall with larger thickness, so that the heat is quickly
absorbed by the chill from larger mass making the cooling rate equal to
that of thin sections.
 Materials of Chills
• Chills can be made of many materials, including iron, copper, bronze, aluminium,
graphite and silicon carbide.
• Sand materials with higher densities, thermal conductivity or thermal
capacity can also be used as a chill.
• For example, chromite sand or zircon sand can be used when molding
with silica sand.
Internal chills: small metal parts are placed inside the mould cavity
before pouring so that the molten metal will solidify first around these
parts. The internal chill should have a chemical composition similar to the
metal being poured, so that it can be made out of same cast metal.
External chills: They are metal inserts kept in mould walls that can
extract heat from the molten metal more rapidly than the surrounding
sand in order to promote localized solidification. They are mainly used in
sections of the casting that are difficult to supply with molten metal.
FETTLING PROCESS
 FETTLING

The process of cleaning of casting is called fettling. This

includes;

1) Removal of cores, gates and risers

2) Cleaning casting surface,
3) Chipping of unnecessary projections
 Post Solidification Processing of Castings

1. Trimming
2. Removing the core
3. Surface cleaning
4. Inspection
5. Repair, if required
6. Heat treatment
 Trimming

1. Removal of sprues, runners, risers, parting-line flash,

fins, chaplets, and any other excess metal from the cast
part.
2. For brittle casting alloys and when cross sections are
relatively small, appendages can be broken off
3. Otherwise, hammering, shearing, hack-sawing,
band-sawing, abrasive wheel cutting/grinding or various
torch cutting methods are used.
 Removing the Core

1. If cores have been used, they must be removed.

2. Most cores are bonded, and they often fall out of
casting as the binder deteriorates.
3. In some cases, they are removed by shaking the
casting, either manually or mechanically.
4. In rare cases, cores are removed by chemically
dissolving bonding agent .
5. Solid cores must be hammered or pressed out
 Surface Cleaning and Inspection

1. Removal of sand from casting surface and otherwise

enhancing appearance of surface.
2. Cleaning methods: tumbling, air-blasting with coarse
sand grit or metal shot, wire brushing, buffing, and
chemical pickling.
3. Surface cleaning is most important for sand casting.
4. Defects are possible in casting, and inspection is
needed to detect their presence
 Heat Treatment

Castings are often heat treated to enhance their

properties. Reasons for heat treating a casting:
▪ For subsequent processing operations
such as machining
▪ To bring out the desired properties for the
application of the part in service
 Casting Quality

Casting is classified as of good quality if it is free

from defects. The casting defects can be broadly
classified as;

▪ General defects common to all casting

processes

▪ Defects related to sand casting process

 General Defects: Misrun
A casting that has
solidified before
completely filling
mold cavity
 General Defects: Cold Shut
Two portions of
metal flow together
but there is a lack of
fusion due to
premature freezing
 General Defects: Cold Shot

Metal splatters
during pouring and
solid globules form
and become
entrapped in the
casting
 General Defects: Shrinkage Cavity

Depression in surface
or internal void caused
by solidification
shrinkage. This can be
avoided by ensuring
good casting design
 Sand Casting Defects: Sand Blow

Balloon-shaped gas
cavity caused by
release of mold gases
during pouring
 Sand Casting Defects: Pin Holes

Formation of many small

gas cavities at or slightly
below surface of casting.
It is generally caused by
liberation of Hydrogen in
the molten metal.
 Sand Casting Defects: Penetration

When fluidity of
liquid metal is high,
it may penetrate
into sand mold or
core, causing
casting surface to
consist of a mixture
of sand grains and
metal
 Sand Casting Defects: Mold Shift

A step in the cast

product at parting
line caused by
sidewise relative
displacement of
cope and drag
 Sand Casting Defects: Drop

Drop: The dropping of loose

molding sand or lumps
normally from the cope
surface into the mould cavity
is responsible for this defect.
This is essentially due to
improper ramming of the
cope flask.
 Sand Casting Defect – Hot Tears

1. It is caused by inadequate
compensation of solidification
shrinkage by melt flow in the
presence of thermal
stresses.
2. The occurrence of this defect
can be prevented by ;
• Avoiding excessive ramming
• Improving the collapsibility of
the mould
• Allocation of proper
shrinkage allowance in the
mould.