Module II

Metal Casting

Dr K Pal, Production and Industrial

Engineering, NIT Jamshedpur

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 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
v12
p1 p2 v22
h1    F1  h2    F2
 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)

• Ignoring friction and assuming no applied pressure.

v12 v22
h1   h2 
2g 2g

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 Molten Metal Flow (cont’)
• Solving for velocity at base of sprue assuming the velocity is negligible:
in the pouring cup

v  2 gh
where, h = height of the sprue

• Continuity of Flow Law – volume rate of flow is constant:

where Q = volumetric flow rate (cm3/s)

Q  v1 A1  v2 A2
• Time to fill a mold cavity: V
TMF 
Q

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 Why the Sprue is Taper ?
• To prevent air bubbles from becoming entrapped
(aspirated) into the molten metal stream, the
sprue diameter is tapered such that the volumetric
flow rate remains constant throughout the length
of the sprue

Q pour  vtop Atop  vbottomAbottom

where, vbottom > vtop thus, Atop > Abottom

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 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(981 cm / s 2
)(10 cm) = 140 cm/s

What is the volume flow rate?

Q = v2A2 = (140 cm/s)(2cm2) = 280 cm3/s
What is the velocity at the top of the downsprue?
Q = v1A1 → v1 = (Q/A1) = (280cm3/s)/4cm2 = 70 cm/s
What is the vertical flow velocity within the pouring cup?
Q = v A → v = (Q/A) = (280/38.5) = 7.3 cm/s
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 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)

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 Example: solidification time
• Given: Disk diameter D = 500 mm
thickness t = 20 mm.
• Material: Al, Cm = 2.0 sec/mm2 in
Chvorinov's Rule, n=2
• Find: solidification time
n
V 
TTS  Cm  
 A

Dr K Pal, Productionl Engineering, VSSUT 7

 What Chvorinov's Rule Tells Us
• A casting with a higher volume-to-surface area
ratio cools and solidifies:
– To feed molten metal to the main cavity, TTS for
the riser must be than TTS for the main
casting
• Since mold constants of the riser and casting will
be equal, design the riser to solidify last by
having its volume-to-area ratio as compared to
the main casting:
– This minimizes the effects of: shrinkage
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 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

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 Directional Solidification

• To minimize damaging effects of shrinkage, it is

desirable for regions of the casting most distant
from the liquid metal supply to freeze first and for
solidification to progress from these remote regions
toward the riser(s)

– Thus, to prevent shrinkage voids molten metal is

continually available from the risers
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Achieving Directional Solidification
• Desired directional solidification is achieved using
Chvorinov's Rule
• Locate sections of the casting with lower V/A ratios
away from riser, so freezing occurs first in these
regions, and the liquid metal supply for the rest of
the casting remains open
• Chills - internal or external heat sinks that cause
rapid freezing in certain regions of the casting

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 External Chills

(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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 Riser Design
• Riser is waste 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 geometry of the riser is normally
selected to maximize the V/A ratio, this allows
riser volume to be reduced to the minimum
possible value
• Use of sleeves
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 Sleeves
For a riser to be effective two conditions must be taken into
consideration:
1. Solidification of the riser should last longer than or at least
as long as that of the casting.
2. The riser should provide adequate feed metal to
compensate for the solidification shrinkage of the
casting

Sleeves will delay the solidification

time of the riser. Hence it will
reduce the riser volume compare to
without sleeves

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Use of Sleeves

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Cooling Curve for a Pure Metal

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 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

Dr K Pal, Production and Industrial
Engineering, NIT Jamshedpur 18
 Comparison

Dr K Pal, Production and Industrial

Engineering, NIT Jamshedpur
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 SPECIAL
CASTING PROCESSES

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Shell Molding

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Shell molding is a process for producing simple or
complex near net shape castings, maintaining tight
tolerances and a high degree of dimensional stability.
1. High quality castings.
2. Can be manufactured for wider range of alloys
3. At a lower cost than investment casting.

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Raw Materials, Equipments for shell Mould Casting
• Resin coated sand.
•Chromel Alumel Thermocouple, digital panel meter.
• Muffle Furnace.
•2 Kg Aluminium Silicon Alloy (LM6) scrap.
• Clay Graphite crucible.
•Fireclay.
•Asbestos Gloves, Tongs, safety goggles.

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Investment Casting
(Lost Wax Process)

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Dr K Pal, Productionl Engineering, VSSUT 42
Dr K Pal, Production and Industrial
Engineering, NIT Jamshedpur
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Pressure Casting

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 Die Casting
(Multi-use Mold Casting)

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Centrifugal Casting

Dr K Pal, Production and Industrial

Engineering, NIT Jamshedpur 58
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True Centrifugal Casting

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Dr K Pal, Production and Industrial
Engineering, NIT Jamshedpur
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Semi-Centrifugal Casting

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Centrifuging Casting

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Casting Defects

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Gas Defects

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Molding Material Defects

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Pouring Metal Defects

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Metallurgical Defects

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