ENGR112: The World of Manufacture

Lecture 3: Fundamentals of Casting

Academic Year : 2015-16

Dr Allan Rennie
([email protected])

Dr C J Taylor – Engineering 112 The World of Manufacture

 Materials
Metals, Ceramics,
Polymers, Composites

Casting
Moulding Deformation Additive Powder Processing
Gravity, Investment,
Injection, Blow, Rolling, Forging, Sintering, Extrusion, Sintering, HIP,
Die, Pressure,
Rotational Drawing, Bending Curing, Printing Slipcasting
Vacuum

Machining
Milling, Drilling, Papermaking
Turning, Grinding Industrial Guest Lecture

Heat Treatment
Annealing, Quenching,
Post-curing

Joining
Bolt, Rivet, Welding,
Brazing, Adhesive

Finishing/Post-
Processing
Grind, Polish, Linish,
Surface Texture
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 Lecture Outline

• Fundamentals of Metal Casting

• Capabilities, advantages and disadvantages
• Open and closed moulds and their constituent elements
• Heating, pouring and solidification of metals and alloys
• Chvorinov’s Rule
• Mould constant
• Solidification shrinkage and directional solidification

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 Fundamentals of Metal Casting

• Overview of Casting Technology

• Heating and Pouring
• Solidification and Cooling
– Starting work material is either a liquid or is in a highly plastic
condition
– Part is created through solidification (freezing) of the material

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 Classification of solidification processes
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 Casting of Metals

• Process in which molten metal flows by gravity or other

force into a mould where it solidifies in the shape of the
mould cavity
• The term casting also applies to the part made in the
process
• Steps in casting can be simplified to:
1. Melt the metal
2. Pour it into a mould
3. Let it freeze
4. Remove from mould
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 Capabilities & Advantages of
Casting

• Can create relatively complex component geometries

– Sacrificial moulds

• Can create both external and internal shapes

• Some casting processes are net shape whilst others are
near net shape
• Can produce very large parts
• Some casting methods are suited to mass production
– Less complex component geometries

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 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)
– Excess material used in casting process (risers, etc..) that need
to be reused
– Safety hazards to workers due to hot molten metals and
related environmental problems

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 Parts Made by Casting

• Large parts/components: engine blocks for automotive

vehicles, wood burning stoves, machine frames, railway wheels,
pipes, church bells, big statues, pump housings, etc.
• Small parts/components: dental crowns, jewellery, pots and
pans, statuettes, etc.
• All varieties of metals can be cast, including both ferrous and
non-ferrous
• Casting is usually performed in a foundry and workers who
perform casting are called foundrymen

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 Types of Casting Mould

Two forms of mould:

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

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 Sand Casting Mould

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 Cores in Moulds

(a) core held in place in the mould cavity by chaplets

(b) possible chaplet design
(c) casting with internal cavity

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 Categories of Casting Process

1. Expendable mould processes – mould must be

destroyed (sacrificial) to remove casting
– Mould materials: sand, plaster, etc.
– Advantages: complex component geometries possible
– Disadvantages: production limited by mould manufacture time

2. Permanent mould processes – mould can be reused

many times to produce many castings
– Mould materials: metal, ceramic refractory material (less
common)
– Advantages: reusable, higher production rates
– Less complex geometries (need to open mould)
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 Video

Classification of solidification processes

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 Heating the Metal

• Furnaces are used to raise the temperature of the metal

above its melting point, sufficient for casting
• Heat required is the sum of:
1. Heat to raise temperature to melting point
2. Heat of fusion to convert from solid to liquid
3. Heat to raise molten metal to desired temperature for
pouring

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 Pouring the Molten Metal

• For this step to be successful, metal must flow into all

regions of the mould, most importantly the main cavity,
before solidifying
• Factors that determine success:
– Pouring temperature
– Pouring rate
– Turbulence

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 Solidification of the Metal

• Return from liquid

to solid
• Solidification
different for pure
metals and alloys
• Pure metal solidifies
at constant
temperature equal
to freezing point
(also melting point)
Cooling curve for a pure metal during casting

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 Solidification of Pure Metals

• Due to chilling action of mould wall, a thin skin of solid

metal is formed at the interface immediately after
pouring
• Skin thickness increases to form a shell around the
molten metal as solidification progresses
• Rate of freezing depends on heat transfer into mould, as
well as thermal properties of the metal

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 Characteristic grain structure in a casting of a pure metal, showing randomly oriented
grains of small size near the mould wall, and large columnar grains oriented toward
the centre of the casting

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 Solidification of Metal Alloys

(a) Phase diagram for a copper-nickel alloy system

(b) associated cooling curve for 50%Ni - 50%Cu composition during casting

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 Characteristic grain structure in an alloy casting, showing segregation of
alloying components in centre of casting

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 Chvorinov’s Rule
n
V 
TTS  Cm 
 A
Where:
TTS = total solidification time (min)
V = volume of the casting (cm3)
A = surface area of casting - in contact with mould (cm2)
n = exponent usually taken to have a value of 2
Cm is the mould constant (min/cm2)

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 Mould Constant in Chvorinov’s
Rule

• Cm depends on mould material, thermal properties

(thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, initial
temperature) of the casting metal, and pouring
temperature relative to the melting point
• Value of Cm for a given casting operation can be based
on experimental data from previous operations carried
out using same mould material, metal, and pouring
temperature
• Useful as can use the above Cm even though the shape
of the part may be quite different
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 What Chvorinov’s Rule Tells Us

• A casting with a higher volume-to-surface area ratio cools and

solidifies more slowly than one with a lower ratio
– To feed molten metal to the main cavity, TTS for the riser must
be greater than TTS for the main casting
• Since riser and casting mould constants will be equal, design the
riser to have a larger volume-to-surface area ratio so that the main
casting solidifies first
– This minimises the effects of shrinkage
n
V 
TTS  Cm 
 A
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 Example

In the casting of steel under certain mould conditions, the mould

constant in Chvorinov's rule is known to be 4.0 min/cm2, based
on previous experience.
The casting is a flat plate whose length is 30 cm, width is 10 cm,
and thickness is 2 cm. Determine how long it will take for the
casting to solidify.

n
V 
TTS  Cm 
 A

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 Solidification Shrinkage

Shrinkage of a cylindrical casting during solidification and cooling:

(0) starting level of molten metal immediately after pouring
(1) reduction in level caused by liquid contraction during cooling
(dimensional reductions are exaggerated for clarity in sketches)
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 (2) reduction in height and formation of shrinkage cavity caused by solidification
shrinkage;
(3) further reduction in height and diameter due to thermal contraction during
cooling of the solid metal (dimensional reductions are exaggerated for clarity in
our sketches)
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 Directional Solidification

• To minimise damaging effects of shrinkage, it is

desirable for regions of the casting most distant from
the liquid metal supply to freeze first
• Solidification should progress from these remote
regions toward the riser(s)
– Thus, molten metal is continually available from risers to
prevent shrinkage voids
– The term directional solidification describes this aspect of
freezing and methods by which it is controlled

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 Achieving Directional
Solidification
• Desired directional solidification is achieved using Chvorinov's
Rule to design the casting itself, its orientation in the mould, and
the riser system that feeds it
• Locate sections of the casting with lower V/A ratios away from
the riser, so freezing occurs first in these regions, and the liquid
metal supply for the rest of the casting remains open
• Can also use chills – internal or external heat sinks that cause rapid
freezing in certain regions of the casting

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 (a) External chill to encourage rapid freezing of the molten
metal in a thin section of the casting; and
(b) the likely result if the external chill were not used

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 A large sand casting weighing over 680 kg (1500 lb) for an air compressor
frame (photo courtesy of Elkhart Foundry).

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 Summary
• Students should now know:
• Casting capabilities, advantages and disadvantages
• Types of mould and their constituent elements
• Heating, pouring and solidification of metals and alloys
• Chvorinov’s Rule and the Mould Constant
• Applied through example question
• Solidification Shrinkage and Directional Solidification

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 ENGR112: The World of Manufacture

Next session:

Lecture 4: Casting Processes

Dr C J Taylor – Engineering 112 The World of Manufacture