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Lecture04 - Casting Processes

The document summarizes various metal casting processes. It discusses how casting involves pouring molten metal into a mold where it solidifies. The main steps are preparing the mold, melting the metal, pouring it in, letting it solidify, and finishing. Casting allows producing parts with complex shapes and internal features economically. The document classifies casting by mold type and filling condition and describes processes like sand casting, investment casting, permanent mold casting, centrifugal casting, and die casting. It discusses the science behind melting metals, fluid flow of molten metal, solidification of alloys, and calculating solidification time.

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berhane
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77 views

Lecture04 - Casting Processes

The document summarizes various metal casting processes. It discusses how casting involves pouring molten metal into a mold where it solidifies. The main steps are preparing the mold, melting the metal, pouring it in, letting it solidify, and finishing. Casting allows producing parts with complex shapes and internal features economically. The document classifies casting by mold type and filling condition and describes processes like sand casting, investment casting, permanent mold casting, centrifugal casting, and die casting. It discusses the science behind melting metals, fluid flow of molten metal, solidification of alloys, and calculating solidification time.

Uploaded by

berhane
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Metal casting processes

Introduction
• Casting – Verb (process) ‫ ׀‬Noun (product)
• Casting is a process in which molten metal is
poured into a suitably shaped mold where it
solidifies in the shape of the mold cavity.
Introduction (cont.)
• Steps in casting - Prepare mould/die; Melt the metal;
Pouring melt into a mould/die; Let it solidify; Finishing
processes

as-cast after machining.


Introduction (cont.)
• Advantages: Economical production of
parts with:
– Complex shapes (e.g. Engine block, statues etc.)
– Intricate holes and internal features
– No limit to size - wide variety of Size or weight (e.g.
dental crowns, jewelry)
– Any metal
– Difficult to machine metals
– Net shape or near net shape
Classification of casting process
• By type of mold
– Expendable (ex. Sand) – for high melting point
metals
• Sand casting, investment casting, etc
• Expendable sand mold is created by packing sand around a
pattern
– Permanent (ex. steel) – for low melting point metals
• Permanent mold casting, die casting, centrifugal casting
• Created by machining from a metal block
Classification of casting process (cont.)

• Filling condition
– Mold filling under
• Gravity
• Pressure: low ‫ ׀‬high
– Mold temperature
• Ambient
• Warm
• hot
Sand casting
Sand casting (cont.)
Investment casting
Permanent mold casting
Centrifugal casting
Die casting
Continuous casting
Analysis
• Similarities between metal casting
– Metal alloy is melted
– Poured or forced into a mold
– Cools and solidifies
– Takes the shape of the mold
– Some require finishing (appearance, tolerance,
surface finish)
– Wide choice of alloys available BUT
• not all alloys can be cast by all processes
Analysis
• Melt metals
• Pouring/ molten metal flow into mold
cavity
• Cool / Solidify
• Remove
• Finish
Melting
• Raw material (charge)
– scrap, alloying materials
• •Atmosphere
– Air (oxygen), vacuum, inert gas
(argon)
• Heating
– External - electric, gas, oil
– Internal - induction, mix fuel
with charge
• Furnace material
– refractory ceramics
Heat

– H = heat [J]
–  density
– V = volume
– c = specific heat (s = solid, l = liquid)
– Hf = heat of fusion
Melting time
• Estimate by (take into account oven efficiency):

• Given Density = 2700 kg/m3, melting point = 660oC, heat


of fusion = 396 kJ/kg, specific heat of liquid = 1.05 kJ/kg-
K, specific heat of solid = 0.9 kJ/kg-K of aluminum,
calculate the time required to raise the temperature of a
120 kg aluminum billet from 20oC to 50oC above its
melting point using a 20 kW furnace that is 75% efficient.
Melting time (cont.)
H = 120 * [0.9 * (660-20) + 396 + 1.05 * (710 – 660)] = 123 MJ
= 1.17 x 105 BTU

time = 123 MJ / (20 kW * 75%) = 2.3 hours

•Should probably buy a bigger furnace


Pouring temperature
Pouring - Fluid Flow
• Bernoulli’s equation
• Reynold’s number
• Continuity
Bernoulli’s equation - Molten
Metal Flow
• Bernoulli’s Theorem – the sum of energies (head,
pressure, kinetic, and friction) at any two points in a
flowing liquid are equal
• Used to calculate flow velocities
• Assumptions: steady state, incompressible, inviscid flow
p1 v12 p2 v22
h1    h2   F
 2g  2g
where, h = head (cm); p = pressure (N/cm2);
ρ = density(g/cm3); v = velocity (cm/s);
g = gravity (981 cm/s2); F = head loss due to friction (cm)
Reynolds number
• Reynold’s number, Re = fluid inertial forces/fluid viscous
forces
• A 4 variable function
– Velocity
– Geometry of flow
– Dynamic viscosity (resistance to flow)
– Density
2rV
Re 

Renold’s number (cont.)
• Critical Reynold’s number
– Re < 2,000
• viscosity dominated, laminar flow
– Re > 20,000
• inertia dominated, turbulent flow
• Controlled through gate and runner design
Continuity
• Continuity of Flow Law – volume rate of flow is
constant:
Q  v1 A1  v2 A2
where Q = volumetric flow rate (cm3/s)

• Time to fill a mold cavity:


V Vvolumeofmold
TMF  
Q Agate v gate
Pouring example
• The height of a downsprue is 10cm, cross-sectional area at
the bottom is 2cm2 (dia.= 1.6cm), at the top 4cm2 (dia.=
2.25cm), and the area of pouring cup is 38.5cm2 (dia.=
7cm)
– What is the velocity at the bottom of the downsprue?
V  2 gh  2(981cm / s 2 )(10cm)  140cm / s

– What is the volume flow rate?


Q  V2 A2  140cm / s * 2cm 2  280cm3 / s

– What is the velocity at the top of the downsprue?


Q  V1 A1  V1  Q
3
 280cm / s  70cm / s
A1 4cm 2
Pouring example
Given
– height of sprue (ht) = 20 cm
– area of sprue (A3) = 2.5 cm2
– volume of mold cavity (V) = 1560 cm3
Find
– vsprue
– Flow rate (Q)
– Mold filling time
Solidification of Metals

• Transformation of molten metal back into solid


state. Solidification differs depending on whether
the metal is:
– A pure element or
– An alloy
Cooling Curve for a Pure Metal
Solidification of Alloys
• Most alloys freeze over a temperature range rather than at a single
temperature

Phase diagram and cooling curve for 50%Ni‑50%Cu


Solidification Time
• TTS depends on size and shape of casting by
relationship known as Chvorinov's Rule
n
V 
TTS  Cm  
 A
where TTS = total solidification time;
V = volume of the casting;
A = surface area of casting;
n = exponent with typical value = 2;
Cm = mold constant (determined experimentally)
Exercise - Solidification time
• Given: Disk diameter D = 500 mm thickness t = 20 mm.
• Material: Al, Cm = 2.0 sec/mm2 in Chvorinov's Rule,
• Find: solidification time

n
V 
TTS  Cm  
 A
Thank you for your attention

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