FUNDAMENTALS OF

METAL CASTING
• Introduction
• Solidification of Metals
• Fluid Flow
• Fluidity of Metals
• Heat Transfer
• Defects
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 Introduction
• An ancient art with primitive skills
• Still versatile and relevant today
• First metals cast were probably gold and copper.
• Au (Augmentum) melts at 1064° C
• Cu (Cuprum) melts at 1084° C
• Egyptians were expert at investing or “lost wax”
casting
• Allowed small intricate shapes to be cast.
• Bronze casting
• Made when people realized that copper tin
alloys cast much easier than copper alone.
• Bronze casting of bells became important

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Basic casting process:
a) Pouring molten metal into a mold
b) Allowing it to solidify
c) Removing the part from the mold

Important consideration in casting operations:

d) Flow of the molten metal into the mold cavity
e) Solidification and cooling of the metal in the mold
f) Influence of the type of mold material

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 Solidification of Metals
• Involves liquid metal turning back in to solid metal
• The significant factors influencing metal solidification;
• Type of metals
• Thermal properties (metals & the mold)
• Relationship volume & surface area
• Shape of the mold

Pure Metals
• Have a clearly defined melting point
• Temperature remains constant during freezing
• Solidifies from the walls of the mold toward the center
of the part
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Grain Structure for Pure Metals

• Two types of grains are formed for a pure metal

• Fine equiaxed
• Columnar
• Rapid cooling at the walls produces fine equiaxed
grains
• Columnar grains
• Grow opposite of the heat transfer throughout
the mold following the chill zone
• Equiaxed grains
• If crystals can grow approximately equally in all
directions – equiaxed grains will grow

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 Alloy Metals
• Solidification in alloys begins when the temperature drops below the
liquidus TL and is complete when it reaches the solidus, TS.
• Within the TL and TS Temperature range, the alloy is like a slushy with
columnar dendrites

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Effects of Cooling Rates
• Slow cool rates  coarse grain structures with large spacing between
dendrite arms (102 K/s)
• Faster cooling rates  finer grain structures with smaller dendrite
arm spacing (104 K/s)
• For even faster cooling rates, the structures are amorphous (106 – 108
K/s)
• Grain size influences strength of a material
• Smaller grains have higher ductility and strength
• Smaller grains help prevent hot tearing and/or cracks
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 Fluid Flow
• Basic casting system:
• Fluid is poured through a pouring basin
• Flows though the gating system into the mold cavity
• Schematic of typical riser-gated casting.
1. Sprue – is a vertical channel
through which the molten metal
flows downward in the mold
2. Runners – channels that carry the
molten metal from the sprue to
the mold cavity
3. Gate – is the portion of the runner
through which the molten metal
enters the mold cavity
4. Risers – serve as reservoirs to
supply the molten metal necessary
to prevent shrinkage.
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Principles of fluid flow (for gating design)
• Bernoulli’s Theorem
• Mass Continuity
Flow Characteristics:
• Turbulence is an important consideration in gating
systems.
• Reynolds Number is used to quantify this aspect
• 0 < Re < 2000  laminar flow
• 2000<Re<20,000 mixture of laminar & turbulent
flow
• Re > 20 000 => severe turbulence
• Techniques for minimizing turbulence
• Avoid sudden changes in flow direction
• Dross or slag can be eliminated by vacuum casting
• Use of filters eliminates turbulent flow in the runner
system 13
 Fluidity of Molten Metal

• Definition :
• The capability of molten metal to fill mold cavities
is called fluidity.

• The following influence fluidity

1. Characteristics of molten metal
• Viscosity (adverse effect)
• Surface tension (adverse effect)
• Inclusions (adverse effect)
• Solidification pattern of the alloy
• Pure metals: Short freezing range->high fluidity
• Solid-solution alloys: long freezing range->low fluidity

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 Fluidity of Molten Metal (cont’d)

2. Casting parameters
• Heat transfer
• Mold design & dimension (sprue, runners, risers)
• Mold material and its surface characteristics
• High thermal conductivity & rough surface->low fluidity
• Degree of superheat
• s/heat = increment of temperature above its melt’g pt
• s/heat (represented by pouring temperature) improves
fluidity by delaying solidification
• Rate of pouring (proportional effect)
• Slow r.o.p (pour slowly) -> high rate of cooling -> low
fluidity

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 Castability
Castability –– describes
describes the
the case
case with
with which
which aa metal
metal can
can
be
be cast
cast to
to obtain
obtain aa part
part with
with good
good quality.
quality.

Test of Fluidity

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 Heat Transfer
• Important consideration in casting
• Heat flow at different locations in the system is complex
• Depends on the material cast, the mold and process
parameters

Solidification Time
• Chvorinov’s Rule: A function of the volume of a casting and its
surface area
n
• Solidification time = C volume
surface area

n : 1.5-2, usually is taken as 2

• Effects on solidification time

• C = constant represents mold material, metal properties,
temperature
• Mold Geometry
• Skin thickness 17
Effect of mold geometry and elapse time on skin thickness and shape:
- Skin thickness increases with elapsed time, and the skin is thinner at
internal angles (A) than at external angles (B)
- Cause by slower cooling rate at internal angles than at external
angles.

Solidified skin on a steel casting. The remaining molten metal is poured

out at the times indicated in the figure.

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 SHRINKAGE
• Causes dimensional changes and,
sometimes cracking, is the result
of the following:
• Contraction prior to
solidification
• Contraction during phase
changes (liquid  solid)
• Contraction as temperature
drops to ambient temperature

• Not all will shrink, gray cast iron

and some aluminum alloys
expand

• Shrinkage is important in design

consideration 19
 Defects
• Metallic projections • Discontinuities
• Fins • Cracks
• Flash • Cold or hot tearing
• Massive projections • Cold shuts
• Swells
• Rough surfaces
• Cavities
• Internal or external
• Blow holes
• Pin holes
• Shrinkage cavities
(porosities)

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• Defective surface
• Folds
• Laps
• Scars
• Oxide scale
• Adhering sand layers
• Incomplete casting
• Misruns
• Insufficient volume
• Runout – due to loss of metal from mold
• Temperature too low when metal is poured to slow
• Incorrect Dimensions or Shape
• Improper shrinkage allowance
• Pattern mounting error
• Irregular contraction
• Deformed pattern
• Warped casting
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• Inclusions – form after melting, solidification and molding
• Non-metallic
• Harmful
• Stress raisers
• Reduce the strength of the casting
• May react with:
• Environment
• Furnace Crucible
• Mold material

• Slags and other foreign material entrapped in the metal

can become inclusions too.

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Porosity
•Caused by shrinkage or gases or both (may be)
•Method of removal
1.Internal chills
2.External chills

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 Chills
• Internal chills are pieces of metal that are placed inside the molding
cavity. When the cavity is filled, part of the chill will melt and
ultimately become part of the casting, thus the chill must be the
same material as the casting. Note that internal chills will absorb
both heat capacity and heat of fusion energy.[1]

• External chills are masses of material that have a high heat capacity
and thermal conductivity. They are placed on the edge of the
molding cavity, and effectively become part of the wall of the
molding cavity. This type of chill can be used to increase the feeding
distance of a riser or reduce the number of risers required.[1]

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 Chill materials
Chills can be made of many materials, including
iron, copper, bronze, aluminium, graphite, and
silicon carbide. Other 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.[2]

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