Quantifying Casting Quality Through Filling Conditions
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2020 AFS Proceedings of the 124th Metalcasting Congress Paper 2020-051 (14 pages) Quantifying Casting Quality Through Filling Conditions Daniel Hoefert,1 David Weiss,1 Randy Oehrlein,2 Cory Sents,2 Travis Bodick,2 Chris Hastings,3 Jerry Thiel,4 Travis Frush,4 Leah Dunlay,4 Kip Woods,4 Robin Foley,5 John Griffin,5 Kyle Metzloff,6 Henry Frear6 1Eck Industries Inc., Manitowoc, WI; 2Carley Foundry Inc., Blaine, MN; 3Morris Bean & Co., Yellow Springs, OH, 4University of Northern Iowa, Waterloo, IA, 5University of Alabama/Birmingham, Birmingham, AL; 6University of Wisconsin/Platteville, Platteville, WI, Copyright 2020 American Foundry Society ABSTRACT This leaves us to wonder, is this also happening below the surface? Focused concern and education related to filling damage and oxide inclusions has been widely promoted among If entrained into the metal stream, even a thin oxide film the foundry industry in the past three decades; with may present a threat to the quality of a casting. Alumina special regards to aluminum.1 However, predicting the skin is insoluble to the melt and has a melting point more quantifiable damage that oxide film may cause to the than double that of molten aluminum.2 The interface of quality of aluminum castings during the filling process the folded skin (bifilm) will not bind to itself; essentially remains largely theoretical, due to a lack of supporting forming a crack. The density of alumina is nearly the data. The purpose of this experiment was to turn on and same as aluminum,3 making them difficult to observe turn off turbulent filling conditions consistent with bifilm with radiography. And, aluminum oxide does not entrainment, in order to obtain the needed data required to fluoresce under ultraviolet light,4 making it difficult to predict the actual porosity and tensile damage these detect with dye penetrant inspections.5 conditions may cause to aluminum castings. Filling conditions ranging from tranquil to turbulent were generated within a test casting by means of three different gravity-fill gating systems. The test casting is made up of nine bent legs that help establish the varied filling conditions. The molds were constructed of 3D printed sand. Fluid flow simulation was used to identify the tranquil and turbulent filling conditions, which include metal-falls, back-waves and eddies. Four common aluminum alloys were trialed in the study: C355, A356, E357 and A206. Radiography and tensile testing were used to quantify the resulting damage; with SEM analysis of fracture surfaces to inspect for oxide film. Limited leak testing was also performed with a focus on identifying potential oxide related bubble-trail leak paths. Keywords: oxide skin, metal-falls, back-waves, eddies, bubbles, seams, flow tubes, aluminum alloys INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Clear evidence of oxide skin can be observed in many of the processes associated with molten metal handling. The Figure 1. The duller appearance of aluminum oxide reaction of oxidation forms a skin on an aluminum melt skin can be noted in the remains of a melted ingot, on surface almost instantaneously. Its dull gray appearance the melt surface of a pour ladle (skimmed seconds manifests itself quickly at the surface of pour ladles, even earlier) and floating in a pour cup. moments after skimming the initial film from the surface. The remains of deflated ingots and scrap castings can also In bifilm theory, the asserted concern is that surface be seen floating to the melt surface in melting furnaces. turbulence will entrain bits of the oxide skin into the metal stream, allowing it to shred and fold into a cloud of Skins can often be observed accumulating at the melt 6 surface of ladles and pour basins during the pour (Fig. 1). crack-like bifilms of untold numbers. This polluting continues for as long as the surface turbulence exists. The cloud of defects is presumably carried downstream from Page 1 of 14 2020 AFS Proceedings of the 124th Metalcasting Congress Paper 2020-051 (14 pages) their turbulent origin, flowing freely throughout the filling CASTING DESIGN process. The density of alumina (slightly higher than that The casting weight is 8.5 kg (18.7 lb) without the gating of aluminum) is said to offset the small amount of air that attached. Each of the nine legs are 82.5mm (3.25in) wide may reside between the folds of the furled bifilm, leaving by 152mm (6in) long by 25mm (1in) thick. Each leg most alumina bifilms neutrally buoyant.7 The final allows for three tensile specimens. The bend between journey of these films may end up gathered in any eddies each leg works in conjunction with each filling systems to created within the cavity, or halted in midstream by establish different filling conditions within casting. solidification, while others may harmlessly exit the cavity by venting into the feed-risers. Bubbles can generate their own special issue, by leaving an oxide bubble-trail. This trail can create a small leak-path to wherever the bubble floated off to. According to bifilm theory, additional damage becomes evident as the casting solidifies. Bifilms are suspected nucleation sites for porosity.8 Casting areas slow to solidify are said to unfurl the bifilms. As they unfurl, the crack-like film expands along with any precipitating porosity.9 The expanding bifilm and porosity lowers local elongation properties and creates potential leak paths. Conversely, areas well fed10 and quick to solidify11 are said to freeze bifilms before they unfurl, reducing the negative effects to porosity growth and reduced elongation. The focus of this experiment is the quantification of casting quality through filling conditions. This was investigated by generating different filling conditions Leg 1 Horizontal Chilled Poorly Fed within a test casting, while maintaining identical Leg 2 Vertical No Chill Poorly Fed solidification conditions. The castings were extensively Leg 3 Horizontal No Chill Well Fed examined through radiography, tensile testing and Leg 4 Horizontal Chilled Well Fed subsequent fracture surface inspections. This was a joint Leg 5 Vertical No Chill Poorly Fed effort between Eck Industries, Inc., Carley Foundry, Leg 6 Horizontal No Chill Poorly Fed Morris Bean & Company, the University of Northern Leg 7 Vertical Chilled Poorly Fed Iowa, UW Platteville and the University of Alabama; with Leg 8 Vertical No Chill Well Fed funding support from AFS. Leg 9 Vertical Chilled Well Fed Figure 2. The solidification system is composed of EXPERIMENT AND DESIGN two sleeved feed-risers and four iron chills. The legs of the casting are numbered 1–9. The individual legs A test casting composed of nine bent legs was designed to see a wide range of solidification and feeding work in conjunction with three different filling systems. conditions. The filling systems work together with the casting to establish different filling conditions that range from tranquil to turbulent within the casting. SOLIDIFICATION SYSTEM The solidification system is designed to provide a wide The casting orientation and solidification system were variety of thermal and feeding conditions to the nine legs. kept identical between the filling systems in order to Horizontal legs 1 and 4 are chilled from below and maintain identical solidification conditions. Thus, the vertical legs 7 and 9 are chilled from the side. Legs 1 and effect of turning on and turning off filling damage within 7 are located far from the feed-risers, whereas legs 4 and the casting is provided by the three filling systems, while 9 are relatively close to feed-risers. The chills are cast the identical casting orientation and solidification system iron and are approximately 50mm (2in) wide by 70mm maintain solidification conditions. These conditions (2.75in) long by 35mm (1.4in) thick. Feed is provided established differentiation between solidification related from two sleeve insulated feed-risers. The center feed- defects and filling related defects. riser is 38mm (1.5in) in diameter and the other is 63mm (2.5in) in diameter. Both are 152mm (6in) tall. The remaining five non-chilled legs are comprised of three vertical legs (2, 5 and 8) and two that are horizontal (3 and 6) as shown in Figure 2. Page 2 of 14 2020 AFS Proceedings of the 124th Metalcasting Congress Paper 2020-051 (14 pages) The variety of solidification conditions are for testing slowed to safe filling velocity by means of a tangent inlet whether bifilms unfurl in areas that are poorly fed and step. This allows the metal to vortex under the filter slow to solidify.12 Legs 2, 5 and 6 are of most interest in before transitioning upwards into the surge cylinder and this regard, as they are un-chilled and located relatively vertically slotted ingate. 25 PPI ceramic foam filters were far from the feed-risers. Metal subjected to turbulent used for our trial. Note that two ingate connections were filling conditions should be especially evident within necessary in order to avoid subsequent internal spilling these legs, with the expectations that porosity will within the cavity. Also, the two runners that branch off at increase, and tensile properties will decrease. Last, un- the T-junction were calculated to control the flow such chilled legs 3 and 8 are well fed, but slow to solidify. that legs 5–8 fill evenly with legs 1 and 2. If this is not taken into consideration, legs 1 and 2 will fill The feed-risers were kept relatively small and carefully prematurely, eventually sending metal across leg 3 to spill positioned to minimize the effects of venting bifilms from into leg 5. Fluid flow simulation was used to confirm that the casting cavity. The short height reduces the head tranquil filling conditions were maintained (Fig. 4). pressure, to encourage unfurling of any bifilms existing within the casting.