University of Bahrain

Course: Manufacturing Processes I (MENG 210)

Outline:
• What is casting
• Mold and its components
• Solidification
• Shrinkage

Fundamentals of Casting

Instructor: Prof. Dr. G. Hussain

1
Department of Mechanical Engineering
 Casting
Process in which molten metal flows by
gravity or other force into a mold
where it solidifies in the shape of the
mold cavity
▪ The term casting also applies to the
part made in the process
▪ Steps in casting seem simple:
1. Melt the metal
2. Pour it into a mold
3. Let it freeze
 Foundary
▪ Casting is usually performed in a foundry
Foundry = factory equipped for
• making molds
• melting and handling molten metal
• performing the casting process
• cleaning the finished casting

▪ Workers who perform casting are called

foundrymen
 The Mold in Casting
▪ Mold is a container with cavity whose geometry
determines part shape
▪ Actual size and shape of cavity must be
slightly oversized to allow for shrinkage of
metal during solidification and cooling
▪ Molds are made of a variety of materials,
including sand, plaster, ceramic, and metal
 Open Mold and Closed Mold
Cavity is closed
Cavity is open to atmosphere

Two forms of mold: (a) open mold, simply a container in the shape of
the desired part; and (b) closed mold, in which the mold geometry is
more complex and requires a gating system (passageway) leading
into the cavity.

EMU - Manufacturing Technology

Two Categories of Casting Processes-
Mold Based
1. Expendable mold processes – uses an
expendable mold which must be destroyed to
remove casting
▪ Mold materials: sand, plaster, and similar
materials, plus binders
2. Permanent mold processes – uses a
permanent mold which can be used over and
over to produce many castings
▪ Made of metal (or, less commonly, a
ceramic refractory material)
Sand Casting Mold

Sand casting mold.

 Sand Casting Mold Terms
▪ Mold consists of two halves:
▪ Cope = upper half of mold
▪ Drag = bottom half
▪ Mold halves are contained in a box, called a
flask
▪ The two halves separate at the parting line
 Forming the Mold Cavity
▪ Cavity is inverse of final shape with shrinkage allowance
Pattern is model of final shape with shrinkage allowance
Wet sand is made by adding binder in the sand
▪ Mold cavity is formed by packing sand around a pattern
When the pattern is removed, the remaining cavity of the packed
sand has desired shape of cast part
▪ The pattern is usually oversized to allow for shrinkage of metal
during solidification and cooling

Difference among pattern, cavity &

part ?
 Use of a Core in the Mold Cavity
▪ Cavity provides the external features of the
cast part
▪ Core provides internal features of the part.
It is placed inside the mold cavity with
some support.
▪ In sand casting, cores are generally made of
sand

Difference b/w, cavity & core ?

 Gating System
It is channel through which molten metal flows into
cavity from outside of mold
▪ Consists of a down-sprue, through which metal
enters a runner leading to the main cavity
▪ At the top of down-sprue, a pouring cup is often
used to minimize splash and turbulence as the metal
flows into down-sprue
 Riser
It is a reservoir in the mold which is a source of liquid metal to
compensate for shrinkage of the part during solidification
Most metals are less dense as a liquid than as a solid so
castings shrink upon cooling, which can leave a void at the
last point to solidify. Risers prevent this by providing molten
metal to the casting as it solidifies, so that the cavity forms
in the riser and not in the casting
 Heating the Metal
▪ Heating furnaces are used to heat the metal to
molten temperature sufficient for casting
▪ The heat required is the sum of:
1. Heat to raise temperature to melting point
2. Heat to raise molten metal to desired
temperature for pouring
 Pouring the Molten Metal
▪ For this step to be successful, metal must flow into all
regions of the mold, most importantly the main cavity,
before solidifying
▪ Factors that determine success
▪ Pouring temperature
▪ Pouring rate
▪ Turbulence
▪ Pouring temperature should be sufficiently high in order
to prevent the molten metal to start solidifying on its way
to the cavity

EMU - Manufacturing Technology

 Pouring the Molten Metal
Pouring rate should neither be high (may stuck the
runner – should match viscosity of the metal) nor very
low that may start solidifying on its way to the cavity

Turbulence should be kept to a minimum in order to

ensure smooth flow and to avoid
mold damage
entrapment of foreign materials
Also, turbulence causes oxidation at the inner surface of
cavity.
This results in cavity damage and poor surface quality of
casting.
 Engineering Analysis of Pouring
▪

1. v: velocity of liquid metal at

base of sprue in cm/sec;
2. g: 981cm/sec2;
3. h: height of sprue in cm
4. v1: velocity at section of area
A1;
5. v2: velocity at section of area
A2
6. V: volume of mold cavity
 Example 10.2
A mold sprue is 20 cm long, and the cross-sectional area at its base is 2.5 cm2. The sprue
feeds a horizontal runner leading into a mold cavity whose volume is 1560 cm3.
Determine: (a) velocity of the molten metal at the base of the sprue, (b) volume rate of flow,
and (c) time to fill the mold.
Solution:

1. If sprue area at its entrance is 5cm2, compute metal velocity at sprue entrance.
2. Calculate velocity & flow rate of metal when metal is in the midway of sprue
Why Sprue X-section is kept taper ??

▪ In order to keep volume flow rate (Q=VA)

constant. In case, x-section is fixed, increased
fluid velocity due to gravity will increase flow rate.
This can cause air entrapment into liquid metal.
 Fluidity
A measure of the capability of the metal to flow
into and fill the mold before freezing.
• Fluidity is the inverse of viscosity (resistance to
flow)
Factors affecting fluidity are:
- Pouring temperature relative to melting point
- Metal composition
- Viscosity of the liquid metal
- Heat transfer to surrounding
 Solidification of Metals
It is the transformation of molten metal back into
solid state
▪ Solidification differs depending on whether the
metal is
▪ A pure element or
▪ An alloy
▪ A Eutectic alloy
 Solidification: Pure Metals
▪ Ref cooling curve:
- Pure metal solidifies at a
constant temperature equal to
its freezing point (same as
melting point).
- Local freezing time= Time
from freezing begins and
completed
- Total freezing time= Time
from pouring to freezing
completed
Cooling curve for a pure
- After freezing is completed, metal during casting
the solid continues to cool at
a rate indicated by downward
slope of curve
 Solidification: Pure Metals
- Because of the chilling action of the
mold wall, a thin skin of solid metal
is initially formed at interface
immediately after pouring. Heat flow

- The skin formed initially has equi-

axed, fine grained and randomly
oriented structure. This is because
of rapid cooling.
- As freezing proceeds, the grains Characteristic grain structure
in a casting of a pure metal
grow inwardly, away from heat flow
direction, as needles or spine of
solid metal.
 Solidification: Pure Metals
- On further growth of spine, Dendrites
lateral branches are formed,
and as these branches grow
further branches are formed at
right angle to the first
branches. This type of growth
is called dendritic growth.
- The dendritic grains are
coarse, columnar and aligned Characteristic grain structure
towards the center of casting. in a casting of a pure metal
 Solidification: Most Alloys
- Most alloys freeze at range of temperature rather than at a single
temperature.
- Freezing begins from liquidus temperature and completes at
solidus temperature.
- The cooling begins in the same manner as that in pure metals; a
thin skin is formed at the interface of mold and makes shell as
freezing proceeds.

Phase diagram for a copper–

nickel alloy system and (b)
associated cooling curve for a
50%Ni–50%Cu composition EMU - Manufacturing Technology
during casting
 Solidification: Most Alloys
- The dendrites begin to form -
with freezing. However, due to Pure
large temperature spread metal
between solidus and liquidus,
the earlier portion of dendritic
grains extract higher % of

Ni ~0%
Depleted
elements from liquid solution
than the portion of grain
formed later.
Fe-Ni
- As a result, the molten metal in
Alloy
the center of mold cavity
depletes from the elements
and hence forms a different
Characteristic grain
structure (see Fig). structure in an alloy casting
 Solidification: Eutectic Alloys
• Eutectic alloys solidify similar to pure metals.
• Eutectic point on phase diagram is a point at which the liquid,
on cooling, completely converts into solid at one temp. No
intermediate phase (L+S) exists.
• Al-Si (11.6% Si) and Cast Iron (4.3% C) are relevant casting eutectic
alloys.

Characteristic grain structure in a

casting of eutectic alloys
Fe-C phase diagram
 Solidification Time & Chorinov’s Rule

▪ Chorinov’s Rule

solidifies
 Shrinkage in Solidification and Cooling

Shrinkage occurs in 3 steps:

a. while cooling of metal in liquid
form (liquid contraction); b.
during phase transformation
from liquid to solid (solidification
shrinkage); c. while solidified
metal is cooled down to room
temperature (solid thermal
contraction).
 Shrinkage in Solidification and Cooling

(2) reduction in height and formation of shrinkage cavity caused by

solidification shrinkage; (3) further reduction in height and
diameter due to solid thermal contraction during cooling of solid
metal (dimensional reductions are exaggerated for clarity).
Why does cavity form at top, why not at bottom?
Solidification Shrinkage (Liquid –Solid transformation)

▪ Shrinkage occurs in nearly all metals because

the solid phase has a higher density than the
liquid phase
▪ Thus, solidification causes a reduction in
volume per unit mass of metal
▪ Exception: cast iron with high C content
▪ Graphitization during final stages of freezing
causes expansion that counteracts
volumetric decrease associated with phase
change
Why solidification shrinkage is negligible in Cast Irons??
 Shrinkage Allowance
▪ Patternmakers account for solidification
shrinkage and thermal contraction by making
mold cavity oversized
▪ Amount by which mold is made larger relative
to final casting size is called pattern shrinkage
allowance
▪ Casting dimensions are expressed linearly, so
allowances are applied accordingly
 Directional Solidification- Design Optimization
▪ In order to minimize the damaging effects of shrinkage, it is
desirable that the regions far from the riser (metal supply)
should solidify earlier than those near the riser in order to
ensure metal flow to distant regions to compensate
shrinkage. This is achieved by using Chvorinov’s rule.
▪ So, casting and mold design should be optimal: riser should
be kept far from the regions of casting having low V/A ratio.

EMU - Manufacturing Technology

 Directional Solidification- Use of Chills
▪ The chills increase the heat extraction.
▪ Internal and external chills can also be used for
directional cooling.
▪ For thick sections, small metal parts, with same
material as that of casting, are put inside the cavity.
The metal solidifies around these pieces as it is
poured into cavity.
▪ For thin long sections, external chills are used. Vent
holes are made in the cavity walls or metal pieces are
put in cavity wall.
▪ If Chorinov’s rule can not be employed, use chills
 Riser Design

▪ Riser is used to compensate for shrinkage of part during

solidification and later it is separated from the casting and
re-melted to make more castings
▪ The Chvorinov’s rule should be used to satisfy the design
requirements.
▪ There could be different designs of riser:
- Side riser: Attached to the side of casting through a
channel
- Top riser: Connected to the top surface of the casting
- Open riser: Exposed to the outside at the top surface of
cope- Disadvantage of allowing of more heat to escape
promoting faster solidification.
- Blind riser: Entirely enclosed within the mold.
 Example 10.3
A cylindrical riser must be designed for a sand-casting mold. The casting itself is a steel rectangular
plate with dimensions 7.5 cm × 12.5 cm × 2.0 cm . Previous observations have indicated that the total
solidification time TTS for this casting = 1.6 min. The cylinder for the riser will have a diameter-to-
height ratio = 1.0. Determine the dimensions of the riser so that its TTS = 2.0 min
Solution
Vol of plate V = 7.5 × 12.5 × 2.0 = 187.5 cm3
Surface area A = 2(7.5 × 12.5 + 7.5 × 2.0 + 12.5 × 2.0) = 267.5 cm2
Given that TTS 1.6min, the mold constant Cm can be determined using n = 2:

Next the riser must be designed so that its TTS is 2.0 min, using the same value of mold
constant.
Vol of the riser = ; Surface area of the riser =
As D/H =1; D=H. The vol and surface area of riser are: ;
V/A ratio = D/6

As D=H; H= 4.7 cm
 Capabilities and Advantages of Casting
• Can create complex part geometries that can not be
made by any other process
• Can create both external and internal shapes
• Some casting processes are net shape; others are
near net shape
• Can produce very large parts (with weight more than
100 tons), like m/c bed
• Casting can be applied to shape any metal that can
melt
• Some casting methods are suited to mass production
• Can also be applied on polymers and ceramics
 Disadvantages of Casting
▪ Different disadvantages for different casting
processes:
▪ Limitations on mechanical properties
▪ Poor dimensional accuracy and surface
finish for some processes; e.g., sand
casting
▪ Safety hazards to workers due to hot molten
metals
▪ Environmental problems
Home Assignment (from 3rd edition)
▪ Prob. 10.3 to 10.7
▪ Prob. 10.15, 10.18, 10.20
▪ Prob. 10.22 to 10.25