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Sustainable development is increasing in importance with restrictions on emission and carbon footprint. Similarly, both energy and resources efficiency are required, and at the same time, cost-efficiency is required. The current paper is focusing on carbon footprint, energy usage and material use efficiency of semisolid metal casting. A detailed analysis is made on the RheoMetal process, which is benchmarked to conventional HPDC casting. The analysis includes the gating system and the importance of the use of primary or secondary material. It furthermore includes a discussion of process yield and benefits based on process capability.

Treatment of the slurry is important during RheoMetalTM casting. In this work, semi-solid slurries were prepared under different stirring intensities, using two types of stirrers: a naked rod (for regular stirring) and a rod with two blades (for intensified stir). Tensile tests were performed, investigating fracture surfaces, as well as metallographic samples. The results show that intensified stir produces castings with finer primary particles and a more homogeneous microstructure. On the other hand, more faceted Fe-rich phases are found along the α-Al grains boundary as well, due to the dissolution of Fe from the stirrers. Moreover, for intensified stir castings, the porosity found on the fracture surfaces are smaller, while more brittle eutectic phases and second (intermetallic) phases, especially Fe-rich phases, are observed. Consequently, the castings with intensified stir show worse ductility. Finally, a quantitative analysis was made regarding ductility, affected both by porosity and the presence of Fe-rich phases.

Two alloys containing different Mg contents have been used to study the combined effect of stirring and oxidation on microstructure and ductility. The results show that intensive stirring can sufficiently disperse the α-Al particles and enable better liquid feeding during solidification and consequently reduce the porosity. The morphology of the oxides is determined by the amount of both Mg and stirring. With lower Mg content, the oxides present as oxide films, which can be broken up during stirring. In alloy with higher Mg content, the oxides exist as particles with numerous cracks, and the particle size increases slightly after stirring. In the Magsimal 59 alloy, due to the presence of large clusters of pores in the fracture surface, the influence of the small oxide particles on the ductility is negligible. In contrast, in the 42000 alloy, large oxide films on the fracture surface are correlated with the ductility.

Primary type polyhedral silicon crystals were observed in the vicinity of oxides located at or near the surface of strontium modified semi-solid Al–7Si–Mg castings. The coarse silicon polyhedrons were observed mainly on the outer side of oxides surrounding the macrosegregation regions. The silicon crystals most likely nucleated on AlP-particles located near the oxides. These AlP particles may nucleate on the wetted surface of oxides, or form at different locations in the interdendritic regions.

In this study, a design of Mamdani type fuzzy inference systems is presented to predict tensile properties of as-cast alloy. To improve manufacturing of light weight cast components, understanding of mechanical properties of cast components under load is important. The ability of deterministic models to predict the performance of a cast component is limited due to the uncertainty and imprecision in casting data. Mamdani type fuzzy inference systems are introduced as a promising solution. Compared to other artificial intelligence approaches, Mandani type fuzzy models allow for a better result interpretation. The fuzzy inference systems were designed from data and experts’ knowledge and optimized using a genetic algorithm. The experts’ knowledge was used to set up the values for the inference engine and initial values for the database parameters. The rule base was automatically generated from the data which were collected from casting and tensile testing experiments. A genetic algorithm with real-valued coding was used to optimize the database parameters. The quality of the constructed systems was evaluated by comparing predicted and actual tensile properties, including yield strength, Y.modulus, and ultimate tensile strength, of as-case alloy from two series of casting and tensile testing experimental data. The obtained results showed that the quality of the systems has satisfactory accuracy and is similar to or better than several machine learning methods. The evaluation results also demonstrated good reliability and stability of the approach.

Abstract In order to investigate the influence of the surface-active element on the interfacial phenomena between molten iron and molten Al2O3-CaO-SiO2 slag, a mildly surface-active element, nitrogen, was introduced, and the interfacial phenomena were directly observed using an X-ray sessile drop method. The multiphysics model was employed to calculate the velocity of the Marangoni convection caused by the surface/interfacial tension gradient along with the contour of the sessile drop. Movement of the sessile drop was observed in the experiment, and the driving force of the movement was discussed from the distribution of surface tension active element viewpoint. The calculated velocity of the Marangoni convection in the droplet was reasonably agreed with the literature data for the metal-gas system, and thus, the same model was applied for the metal-slag system. The velocity of the Marangoni convection for the metal-slag system becomes ten times lower compared to that of metal-gas system. Graphical abstract

For the optimization of the annealing process of aluminium coils, simulation of the process is often performed. To simulate the process with higher accuracy, reliable input parameters are required and the thermal conductivity (thermal contact conductance) is one of them. In the present study, the thermal conductivity and thermal contact conductance of AA3003 alloy sheets were measured by a steady state comparative longitudinal heat flow method at different contact pressure. To evaluate the thermal conductance at the interface, thermal resistance network model' was applied. In addition, the surface roughness of the sheets was also investigated. Based on the measurement results, the semi-empirical equation for the relationship between thermal contact conductance and contact pressure was obtained

Squeeze casting is a process that can produce the highest quality castings. In the current study, the effect of the process settings and the in-die conditions on rejection rates is studied through a full-scale experimental study. Factors affecting the as-cast part quality were investigated in the current study from two different viewpoints. The first part of the study was to investigate the influence of the process settings on the part rejection rate, and the second was to understand the conditions in the die and the effects on the part rejection rate to understand better the reasons and sensitivity of the squeeze casting process.

The influence of cooling rate on the formation of iron-rich intermetallic phases during solidification of unmodified and strontium-modified Al-7Si-0.3Mg alloys has been investigated. The effect of strontium on the intermetallic phases was evaluated in unquenched and quenched samples. Samples were quenched before the start of the Al-Si eutectic reaction, along the Al-Si eutectic reaction and just after the end of solidification. The results show that the addition of strontium increased the size of both β-Al5FeSi and π-Al8FeMg3Si6 at low cooling rates. For unmodified and strontium-modified alloys, an increase of cooling rate resulted in a decrease in size of the intermetallic phases, particularly in the strontium modified alloy. In the strontium modified alloy quenched before the start of the Al-Si eutectic reaction, π-Al8FeMg3Si6 appeared as thin platelets at the eutectic cell boundaries. Chinese script-like π-Al8FeMg3Si6 and platelet-like β-Al5FeSi intermetallic phases were observed uniformly distributed in the eutectic regions in the unmodified alloy quenched before the start of the eutectic reaction. Strontium modified semi-solid Al-7Si-0.3Mg castings were produced and the type of intermetallic phase, morphology, size, area fraction and distribution were similar to that observed in the strontium modified alloy quenched before the start of the Al-Si eutectic reaction.

The growth mechanism of graphite nodules in ductile iron was experimentally investigated using high-resolution 3D tomography of an individual graphite nodule in a near-eutectic ductile iron. The dual beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) technique was used for this purpose. Iron particles elongated in the radial direction were observed inside a graphite nodule. Some micro-voids were detected inside the nodule, mostly located at the end of the iron particles. These observations were compared with established theories about the growth of graphite nodules and iron entrapment/engulfment in between the graphite sectors during solidification of ductile iron.

Today, tool life in high pressure die casting (HPDC) is of growing interest. A common agreement is that die life is primarily decided by the thermal load and temperature gradients in the die materials. Conformal cooling with the growth of additive manufacturing has raised interest as a means of extending die life. In the current paper, conformal cooling channels’ performance and effect on the thermal cycle in high-pressure die casting and rheocasting are investigated for conventional HPDC and semisolid processing. It was found that conformal cooling aids die temperature reduction, and the use of die spray may be reduced and support the die-life extension. For the die filling, the increased temperature was possibly counterproductive. Instead, it was found that the main focus for conformal cooling should be focused to manage temperature around the in-let bushing and possibly the runner system. Due to the possible higher inlet pressures for semisolid casting, particular benefits could be seen.

The effect of lanthanum (La)+cerium (Ce) addition on the high-temperature strength of an aluminum (Al)–silicon (Si)–copper (Cu)–magnesium (Mg)–iron (Fe)–manganese (Mn) alloy was investigated. A great number of plate-like intermetallics, Al11(Ce, La)3- and blocky α-Al15(Fe, Mn)3Si2-precipitates, were observed. The results showed that the high-temperature mechanical properties depended strongly on the amount and morphology of the intermetallic phases formed. The precipitated tiny Al11(Ce, La)3 and α-Al15(Fe, Mn)3Si2 both contributed to the high-temperature mechanical properties, especially at 300 °C and 400 °C. The formation of coarse plate-like Al11(Ce, La)3, at the highest (Ce-La) additions, reduced the mechanical properties at (≤300) ℃ and improved the properties at 400 ℃. Analysis of the strengthening mechanisms revealed that the load-bearing mechanism was the main contributing mechanism with no contribution from thermal-expansion mismatch effects. Strain hardening had a minor contribution to the tensile strength at high-temperature.

Dies for high pressure die casting are normally manufactured by machining of slabs of tool steel to the required dimensions. This manufacturing requires several steps such as rough machining, heat-treatment, EDM (electro discharge machining) and polishing. With the AM (additive manufacturing) method SLM (Selective Laser Melting) it has become possible to print the dies fully or in part. Several advantages are expected, such as a better thermal distribution in the die in service and thereby extended die life and better component quality. This is due to the possibility of making the cooling channels conformal. There are also expectations of reduced time and cost in the manufacturing process due to fewer manufacturing steps and better material utilisation. Hopes are to print a net shape or near net shape that can be used directly as a die component. In this paper it is investigated to what extent this can be fulfilled by printing two die inserts to be used for casting fatigue test samples of aluminium. They were printed on a 3D Systems ProX DMP 300 in maraging steel powder. The result is that it is possible to obtain a sufficiently smooth surface die surface. However, the current design with an SLM insert fitted in a machined die makes extensive post printing manufacturing necessary.

Semisolid casting can provide excellent castings, but the nature of the pore-forming mechanisms has not been properly clarified. In the current communication, it was suggested that hydrogen precipitated during slurry making might have a decisive role in the formation of both gas and shrinkage porosity. Intensive stirring at the end of the slurry making process may act as a degassing step. Without the intense shearing, structures of primary slurry particles form around the hydrogen pores, strongly affecting pore formation and feeding during the intensification stage.

Semisolid casting of aluminium alloys is growing. For magnesium alloys, Thixomoulding became the dominant process around the world. For aluminium processing, the situation is different as semisolid processing of aluminium is more technically challenging than for magnesium. Today three processes are leading the process implementation, The Gas-Induced Superheated-Slurry (GISS) method, the RheoMetal process and the Swirling Enthalpy Equilibration Device (SEED) process. These processes have all strengths and weaknesses and will fit a particular range of applications. The current paper aims at looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the processes to identify product types and niche applications for each process based on current applications and development directions taken for these processes.

Defects in cast metals remain a common problem in many areas of the foundry industry, particularly in the investment casting of large area, thin-walled components for aerospace applications. During previous research, the thermophysical properties, density and porosity of a fibre reinforced ceramic investment casting mould were determined using several experimental techniques. Without verification, these experimental results remain nothing more than educated guesswork. The purpose of this study is to verify previous results and to more fully characterise the ceramic mould material with complementary measurements. A commercially available computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation package, Flow-3D®, was used in conjunction with a full-scale Ni-superalloy (IN718) casting to assess the accuracy of these results. By placing thermocouples strategically across the mould thickness, temperature profiles were determined and compared directly to predicted profiles extracted from the simulation by a custom-written Python script. Funding details: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, EPSRC; Funding text 1: The authors would like to thank the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and TPC Components AB for providing their financial support towards this research. In addition, The authors would like to specifically thank Daniel Kuivamäki (TPC Components AB) and personnel of the Flow 3D® support team for their technical support with the computer simulations. The data used in this paper is described in the Cranfield Online Data Repository (CORD) at: http://doi.org/10.17862/cranfield.rd.9934280

Uncertain and imprecise data are inherent to many domains, e.g. casting lightweight components. Fuzzy logic offers a way to handle such data, which makes it possible to create predictive models eve ...

The mechanical properties of Al-Si alloys are affected by several microstructural features such as secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS), size and shape of eutectic Si-particles, presence of intermetallics as well as by porosity. In the current study, Al-Si-Cu alloy A380 was prepared by a unique directional solidification method to produce samples with two different SDAS of 9 μm and 27 μm. The lower solidification rate resulted in larger SDAS, larger grain size, larger eutectic Si and larger intermetallics including Fe-rich β phase. The microstructure with higher solidification rate was found to be finer and more homogeneous with smaller eutectic Si and intermetallics. The specimen with larger SDAS exhibited stronger texture than the one with smaller SDAS. The specimen with smaller SDAS showed improved mechanical properties including YS, UTS and ductility.

In semi-solid casting, a slurry consisting of primary α-Al crystals and liquid is injected into the die cavity. The solidification in the die-cavity occurs by the growth of the primary α-Al crystals formed during slurry preparation and in the shot sleeve, nucleation and growth of in-cavity solidified crystals and ends with the eutectic reaction. During solidification in the die cavity, the cooling rate near the die wall is higher in comparison to the centre of the casting, particularly for thick-walled castings. The solidification conditions for the slurry α-Al crystals that are closer to the die wall can be very different compared to the slurry α-Al crystals located at the casting centre. This can result in different solute concentration in the interior of the α-Al globules in different regions of the semi-solid casting cross-section and consequently, different response to heat treatament. The RheoMetal™ process was used to produce thick-walled semi-solid castings. Semi-solid castings in the as-cast and T6 conditions were investigated. Indentation tests for hardness measurements in the nano-range were performed in the interior of α-Al globules near the surface and at the casting cross-section centre. The hardness variation across the casting cross-section was evaluated by low-force Vickers hardness. The castings in the as-cast condition showed more uniform properties in the cross-section compared to the T6 condition. Additionally, the results suggest that microsegregation in the interior of α-Al globules is very low in castings in the as-cast and T6 conditions.

Recent advances in rheocasting have resulted in significant expansion in the types of products currently in full commercial production. The current paper gives an overview of components in production in Europe and in China produced using the RheoMetalTM process, that has taken the lead in a strong drive towards new heavy-duty applications made from aluminium alloys. In China, the dominating applications are found in the telecom industry. The trend in Europe is more towards marine and automotive applications commonly in fatigue loaded applications. The reason for the choice of rheocasting for complicated shape thin-walled electronics components with requirements is dominated by process yield and by the ability to improve thermal conductivity. The heavy-duty truck chassis thick walled components target weight reduction through design and to sustain fatigue load normally requiring forged components. Common in all applications are seen in production yield, reduced tool wear and reduction of die soldering.

Digitalization of manufacturing requires building models to represent accumulated data and knowledge on the products and processes. The use of formal knowledge models allows for increase of the automation level leading to more sustainable manufacturing. Casting is important for different industries because it offers a great freedom of designing for weight reduction. This paper presents an approach to modelling of cast component properties that is based on fuzzy logic. The approach includes learning of the fuzzy inference rules from the data. The constructed fuzzy logic models can be used to tune the manufacturing process to produces cast components with desired properties. The evaluation of the results demonstrates that the accuracy of the two created models are 3.58% and 3.15% respectively with the learned fuzzy inference rules being identical to the manually created ones. The presented approach can help to automate the management of cast component manufacturing.

This paper aims to investigate the anodising behaviour of Al-Si components produced by rheocasting, to understand the effect of the surface liquid segregation (SLS) on the anodising response. The material investigated was EN AC 42000 Al-alloy with an addition of 150 ppm Sr. The component was rheocast and conventionally liquid cast for benchmarking. The RheoMetalTM process was used to prepare slurry and subsequently cast using a vertical pressure die casting machine. Prior to anodising, mechanical grinding was used as pre-treatment method for selected samples as comparison with components in the as-cast state. Anodising was performed on the components using a constant controlled voltage at 25 V, in 1 M H2SO4, at room temperature. The duration of anodising was varied from 30 mins to 120 mins to examine the relationship between oxide layer thickness and the anodising time. The oxide layer was investigated and characterised. The results demonstrated that the presence of the SLS layer, which was enriched with alloying elements, had a significant influence on the anodising behaviour of the cast component. The oxide layer thickness of the components produced by rheocasting and fully liquid casting was measured and compared. The relations between the oxide layer thickness and anodising time, as well as the casting methods are presented and discussed in this paper.

The viscosity of low SiO2 (10–20 mass%)-CaO-Al2O3 slag system was measured in a wide temperature range (1 623–2 800 K) using the rotational bob method and the aerodynamic levitation method. The inf ...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the tool performance when machining compacted graphite iron (CGI) alloys. A comparison was made between solid solution strengthened CGI including various amounts of silicon (Si-CGI) and the pearlitic-ferritic CGI as a reference material. The emphasis was on examining the influence of microstructure and mechanical properties of the material on tool wear in face milling process. Machining experiments were performed on the engine-like test pieces comprised of solid solution strengthened CGI with three different silicon contents and the reference CGI alloy. The results showed up-to 50% lower flank wear when machining Si-CGI alloys, although with comparable hardness and tensile properties. In-depth analysis of the worn tool surfaces showed that the abrasion and adhesion were the dominant wear mechanisms for all investigated alloys. However, the better tool performance when machining Si-CGI alloys was mainly due to a lower amount of abrasive carbo-nitride particles and the suppression of pearlite formation in the investigated solid solution strengthened alloys.

This study aims to evaluate the effect of grain refinement on slurry formation and surface segregation in semi-solid castings produced by the Rheometal™ process. The effect of two grain refiners, Al-8B and Al-5Ti-1B, on the slurry α-Al grain size, shape factor and solid fraction was evaluated. The results suggest that the addition of a grain refiner can affect the solid fraction obtained in the RheometalTM process and, consequently, reduce the solute content near the casting surface. Grain refiner addition resulted in a larger fraction of α-Al grains ≤ 60 µm for the refined alloys compared with the unrefined alloy. Additionally, the growth of α-Al slurry globules was greater for the unrefined alloy compared with the refined alloy during solidification in the die-cavity. A more homogeneous and finer microstructure was observed near the surface in the grain-refined castings compared with the unrefined castings. Evidence of significant liquid penetration was identified in some α-Al globules, indicating that disintegration of α-Al globules may occur during the Rheometal™ casting process.

The present study focuses on scratch behaviour of a conventional pearlitic and a number of solid solution strengthened ferritic Compacted Graphite Iron (CGI) alloys. This was done by employing a single-pass microscratch test using a sphero-conical diamond indenter under different constant normal loads conditions. Matrix solution hardening was made by alloying with different content of Si alloy; (3.66, 4.09 and 4.59 wt%. Si) which are named as low-Si, medium-Si and high-Si ferritic CGI alloys, respectively. A good correlation between the tensile and scratch test results was observed explaining the influence of CGI’s matrix characteristics on scratch behaviour both for pearlitic and fully ferritic solution strengthened ones. Both the scratch depth and scratch width showed strong tendency to increase with increasing the normal load, however the pearlitic one showed more profound deformation compared to the solution strengthened CGI alloys. Among the investigated alloys, the maximum and minimum scratch resistance was observed for high-Si ferritic CGI and pearlitic alloys, respectively. It was confirmed by the scratched surfaces analysed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) as well. In addition, the indenter’s depth of penetration value (scratch depth) was found as a suitable measure to ascertain the scratch resistance of CGI alloys.Keywords: Silicon solution strengthening, CGI, Abrasion, Scratch testing, Scratch resistance

In this paper, we aim at characterizing three different cast iron alloys and their microstructural features, namely lamellar, compacted and nodular graphite iron. The characterization of microscopic features is essential for the development of methods to optimize the behavior of cast iron alloys; e.g. maximize thermal dissipation and/or maximize ductility while maintaining strength. The variation of these properties is commonly analyzed by metallography on two-dimensional representations of the alloy. However, more precise estimates of the morphologies and material characteristics are obtained by three-dimensional reconstruction of microstructures. The use of X-ray microtomography provides an excellent tool to generate high resolution threedimensional microstructure images. The characteristics of the graphite constituent in the microstructure, including the size, shape and connectivity, were analyzed for the different cast iron alloys. It was observed that the lamellar and compacted graphite iron alloys have relatively large connected graphite morphologies, as opposed to ductile iron where the graphite is present as nodules. The results of the characterization for the different alloys were ultimately used to generate finite element models. CC BY 4.0

Eeffect of Boron addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of ductile iron, GJS-500-7 grade was studied. Three cast batches with the Boron content of 10, 49 and 131ppm were cast in a casting geometry containing plates with thicknesses of 7, 15, 30, 50 and 75mm. Microstructure analysis, tensile test, and hardness test were performed on the samples which were machined from the casting plates. Addition of 49 ppm Boron decreased pearlite fraction by an average of 34±6% in all the cast plates. However, minor changes were observed in the pearlite fraction by increasing Boron from 49 to 131 ppm. Variation in the plate thickness did not affect the pearlite fraction. The 0.2% offset yield and ultimate tensile strength was decreased by an average of 11±1% and 18±2%, respectively. Addition of 49 ppm Boron decreased Brinell hardness by 16±1%, while 11±2% reduction was obtained by addition of 131ppm Boron.

A dislocation density-based constitutive model, including effects of microstructure scale and temperature, was calibrated to predict flow stress of an as-cast AZ91D (Mg-9%Al-1%Zn) alloy. Tensile st ...

The study aimed to investigate crack initiation and propagation at the micro-scale in heat-treated Al–7Si–Mg cast alloys with different copper (Cu) contents. In-situ cyclic testing in a scanning electron microscope coupled with electron back-scattered diffraction and digital image correlation was used to evaluate the complex interaction between the crack path and the microstructural features. The three-nearest-neighbour distance of secondary particles was a new tool to describe the crack propagation in the alloys. The amount of Cu retained in the α-Al matrix after heat treatment increased with the Cu content in the alloy and enhanced the strength with a slight decrease in elongation. During cyclic testing, the two-dimensional (2D) crack path appeared with a mixed propagation, both trans- and inter-granular, regardless of the Cu content of the alloy. On fracture surfaces, multiple crack initiation points were detected along the thickness of the samples. The debonding of silicon (Si) particles took place during crack propagation in the Cu-free alloy, while cracking of Si particles and intermetallic phases occurred in the alloy with 3.2 wt% Cu. Three-dimensional tomography using focused ion beam revealed that the improved strength of the α-Al matrix changes the number of cracked particles ahead of the propagating crack with Cu concentration above 1.5 wt%.

This paper investigates the effect of the solidification conditions and silicon content on the mechanical properties of ductile iron and presents empirical models for predicting the tensile behavior based on the microstructural characterizations. Two ductile iron grades of GJS-500-7 and GJS-500-14 were cast with silicon content of 2.36% and 3.71%, respectively. The cast geometry consisted of six plates with different thicknesses that provided different cooling rates during the solidification. Microstructure analysis, tensile and hardness tests were performed on the as-cast material. Tensile behavior was characterized by the Ludwigson equation. The tensile fracture surfaces were analyzed to quantify the fraction of porosity. The results showed that graphite content, graphite nodule count, ferrite fraction and yield strength were increased by increasing the silicon content. A higher silicon content resulted in lower work hardening exponent and strength coefficient on the Ludwigson equation. The results for 0.2% offset yield and the Ludwigson equation parameters were modeled based on microstructural characteristics, with influence of silicon content as the main contributing factor. The models were implemented into a casting process simulation to enable prediction of microstructure-based tensile behavior. A good agreement was obtained between measured and simulated tensile behavior, validating the predictions of simulation in cast components with similar microstructural characteristics.

Simulation tools have improved significantly and are now capable of accurately predicting mould filling behavior. The quality of prediction is highly dependent on material properties and set-up of boundary conditions for the simulation. In this work material properties were measured and casting conditions were analyzed to accurately replicate the casting process in simulation. The sensitivity of the predictions to minor process variations commonly found in foundries was evaluated by comparing simulation and cast samples. The observed discrepancies between simulation and cast samples were evaluated and discussed in terms of their dependency on process variations. It was concluded that the simulation set-up was capable of reasonable predictions and could replicate the asymmetry of the filling however did not accurately predict the absolute value of the unfilled area. It was discovered that asymmetric flow due to variations in the orientation of the casting mould during filling could have greater influence on the predictions than the actual variation in fill time. The quality of simulation is dependent on equipment and techniques used in the foundry as well as the metallurgical model to simulate the process. © 2017, The Author(s). Funding details: Energimyndigheten; Funding details: VINNOVA;CORRECTION TO: EFFECTS OF PROCESS RELATED VARIATIONS ON FILLABILITYSIMULATION OF THIN-WALLED IN718 STRUCTURES https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s40962-018-0223-6.pdf

This paper presents a study of distortion and residual stress within a high-pressure die-cast AZ91D component, cast under different processing conditions. The influence of process parameters, i.e., ...

A quantitative analysis of the amount, size and number of particles that precipitate in situ in titanium- and aluminium-treated Hadfield steel cast during pilot-scale experiments has been performed. SEM with EDS and automated particle analysis abilities was utilized for the analysis. Additionally, Thermo-Calc was used for thermodynamic calculations and Magma 5 for solidification and cooling simulations. Predicted particles sizes calculated with a model based on the Ostwald ripening mechanism were compared with the experimental data. The effect of solute availability, cooling rate and deoxidation practice on the particle population characteristics was determined. It was concluded that the amount, size and number of precipitating particles in Hadfield steel castings is possible to be controlled according to certain requirements by a careful selection of proper additives in proper amounts and also by the optimization of the casting process in aspects of deoxidation timing and control of the cooling r...

The thermal conductivity of Compacted Graphite Iron (CGI) and spheroidal graphite iron (SGI) was established in the temperature range from room temperature up to 500 °C using the experimental therm ...

The melting sequence of the enthalpy exchange material (EEM) and formation of a slurry in the RheoMetal™ process was investigated. The EEM was extracted and quenched, together with a portion of the slurry at different processing times before complete melting. The EEM initially increased in size/diameter due to melt freezing onto its surface, forming a freeze-on layer. The initial growth of this layer was followed by a period of a constant diameter of the EEM with subsequent melting and decrease of diameter. Microstructural characterization of the size and morphology of different phases in the EEM and in the freeze-on layer was made. Dendritic equiaxed grains and eutectic regions containing Si particles and Cu-bearing particles and Fe-rich particles were observed in the as-cast EEM. The freeze-on layer consisted of dendritic aluminum tilted by about 30 deg in the upstream direction, caused by the rotation of the EEM. Energy dispersion spectroscopy analysis showed that the freeze-on layer had a composition corresponding to an alloy with higher melting point than the EEM and thus shielding the EEM from the surrounding melt. Microstructural changes in the EEM showed that temperature rapidly increased to 768 K (495 °C), indicated by incipient melting of the lowest temperature melting eutectic in triple junction grain boundary regions with Al2Cu and Al5Mg8Si6Cu2 phases present. As the EEM temperature increased further the binary Al-Si eutectic started to melt to form a region of a fully developed coherent mushy state. Experimental results and a thermal model indicated that as the dendrites spheroidized near to the interface at the EEM/freeze-on layer reached a mushy state with 25 pct solid fraction, coherency was lost and disintegration of the freeze-on layer took place. Subsequently, in the absence of the shielding effect from the freeze-on Layer, the EEM continued to disintegrate with a coherency limit of a solid fraction estimated to be 50 pct.

In a quest to develop new light metal alloys that can perform excellently at elevated-temperatures (from 300°C to 400°C), a ternary eutectic Al-Cu-Si alloy was exploited to gain a deeper understand ...

This study presents the results of an investigation that characterises the thermophysical properties of an investment casting mould, comprising of a Zirconium dioxide/Cobalt aluminate prime slurry and a fused Silica/fibre reinforced backup slurry. Growing prevalence of successful computer simulations within the foundry industry enables defects that emerge during the casting process to become increasingly predictable, providing cost-effective alternatives to trial castings. The viability of these simulations as predictors is heavily dependent upon the facilitation of accurate material property data, as attained through this investigation. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and laser flash analysis (LFA) were utilized to determine the specific heat capacity and thermal diffusivity, respectively. These values, in combination with the material density and linear coefficient of thermal expansion, have been used to determine the thermal conductivity of the mould. With the aim of verifying these parameters, initial studies in Flow-3D® simulation software have been performed to determine the constraints needed to reduce variability in simulation parameters. Due to the diversity of casting moulds used throughout the industry, ensuring the material database is kept as comprehensively populated as possible is a crucial undertaking.

Maraging steels are good candidates for the laser powder bed fusion process (L-PBF), also known as Selective Laser Melting, due to excellent weldability and resistance to quench cracking. Powders physical and chemical characteristics dominate the final microstructure and properties of the printed parts, that are also heavily influenced by the process parameters. In this study, the effects of the scanning strategies on dimensions, average surface roughness, density and material hardness were evaluated, keeping the powder type and the volumetric energy density (Andrew number) constant. The effects of the scanning strategy on these properties are far less understood than on other important ones, like residual stresses and distortion, strongly affected by the scanning strategy. In this study, parallel stripes, chessboard and hexagonal pattern strategies were studied, keeping the Andrew number constant but varying the interlayer rotation. In general, the hexagonal strategy underperformed compared to the chessboard and the stripes ones.

The specific heat and thermal diffusivity of Compacted Graphite Iron (CGI) and Spheroidal Graphite Iron (SGI) were measured at temperatures ranging between 373 and 773 K (100 and 500 °C) using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and between 298 and 773 K (25 and 500 °C) using the laser flash method, respectively. Specific heat increased with increasing amounts of graphite and pearlite, as well as with Si content. As a recommended value of the specific heat for fully ferritic high-silicon SGI, the following relation was suggested: where T is the temperature in Celsius, is the mass% of Si, and fg is the area fraction of graphite (%). The thermal diffusivity of cast irons tends to increase with increasing amounts of graphite, and decrease with greater nodularity. It was found that nodularity had a strong influence on thermal diffusivity in the nodularity range of 15–30%.

The flow stress of an as-cast Al-Si based alloy was modeled using a dislocation density based model. The developed dislocation density-based constitutive model describes the flow curve of the alloy with various microstructures at quite wide temperature range. Experimental data in the form of stress-strain curves for different strain rates ranging from 10−4 to 10−1 s−1 and temperatures ranging from ambient temperature up to 400 °C were used for model calibration. In order to model precisely the hardening and recovery process at elevated temperature, the interaction between vacancies and dissolved Si was included. The calibrated temperature dependent parameters for different microstructure were correlated to the metallurgical event of the material and validated. For the first time, a dislocation density based model was successfully developed for Al-Si cast alloys. The findings of this work expanded the knowledge on short strain tensile deformation behaviour of these type of alloys at different temperature, which is a critical element for conducting a reliable microstructural FE-simulation. Finns som manuskript med titeln A Dislocation Density Based Yield Stress Model for as-cast EN AC-46000 Alloy i licentiatuppsats.

This study focuses on the modelling and simulation of local mechanical properties of compacted graphite iron cast at different section thicknesses and three different levels of silicon, ranging from about 3.6% up to 4.6%. The relationship between tensile properties and microstructure is investigated using microstructural analysis and statistical evaluation. Models are generated using response surface methodology, which reveal that silicon level and nodularity mainly affect tensile strength and 0.2% offset yield strength, while Young′s modulus is primarily affected by nodularity. Increase in Si content improves both the yield and tensile strength, while reduces elongation to failure. Furthermore, mechanical properties enhance substantially in thinner section due to the high nodularity. The obtained models have been implemented into a casting process simulation, which enables prediction of local mechanical properties of castings with complex geometries. Very good agreement is observed between the me...