The paper, which is a summary and supplement of previous works and research, presents the results of numerical and physical modeling of the GX2CrNiMoCuN25-6-3 duplex cast steel thin-walled castings production. To obtain thin-walled castings with wall in the thinnest place even below 1 mm was used the centrifugal casting technology and gravity casting. The analyzed technology (centrifugal casting) enables making elements with high surface quality with reduced consumption of batch materials and, as a result, reducing the costs of making a unitary casting. The idea behind the production of cast steel with the use of centrifugal technology was to find a remedy for the problems associated with unsatisfactory castability of the tested alloy.

The technological evaluation of the cast construction was carried out using the Nova Flow & Solid CV 4.3r8 software. Numerical simulations of crystallization and cooling were carried out for a casting without a gating system and sinkhead located in a mold in accordance with the pouring position. It was assumed that the analyzed cast will be made in the sand form with dimensions 250×250×120 mm.

Consecutive casting of bimetallic applies consecutive sequences of pouring of two materials into a sand mold. The outer ring is made of NiHard1, whereas the inner ring is made of nodular cast iron. To enable a consecutive sequence of pouring, an interface plate made of low carbon steel was inserted into the mold and separated the two cavities. After pouring the inner material at the predetermined temperature and the interface had reached the desired temperature, the NiHard1 liquid was then poured immediately into the mold. This study determines the pouring temperature of nodular cast iron and the temperature of the interface plate at which the pouring of white cast iron into the mold should be done. Flushing the interface plate for 2 seconds by flowing nodular cast iron liquid as inner material generated a diffusion bonding between the inner ring and interface plate at pouring temperatures of 1350 °C, 1380 °C, and 1410 °C. The interface was heated up to a maximum temperature of 1242 °C, 1260 °C, and 1280 °C respectively. The subsequent pouring of white cast iron into the mold to form the outer ring at the interface temperature of 1000 °C did not produce a sufficient diffusion bonding. Pouring the outer ring at the temperature of 1430°C and at the interface plate temperature of 1125 °C produced a sufficient diffusion bonding. The presence of Fe3O2 oxide on the outer surface of the interface material immediately after the interface was heated above 900 ⁰C has been identified. Good metallurgical bonding was achieved by pouring the inner ring at the temperature of 1380°C, interface temperature of 1125 °C and then followed by pouring of the outer ring at 1430⁰C and flushing time of 7 seconds.

This paper presents a new stand for studying the linear shrinkage kinetics of foundry alloys. The stand is equipped with a laser displacement sensor. Thanks to this arrangement, the measurement is of a contactless nature. This solution allows for the elimination of errors which occur in measurements made using intermediary elements (steel rods). The supposition of the expansion (shrinkage) of the sample and the expansion of the heated rod lead to the distortion of the image of the actual dimensional changes of the studied sample. A series of studies of foundry alloys conducted using the new stand allowed a new image of shrinkage kinetics to be obtained, in particular regarding cast iron. The authors introduce in the study methodology a real-time measurement of two linked quantities; shrinkage (the displacement of the free end of the sample) and temperature in the surface layer of the sample casting. This generates not only a classic image of shrinkage (S) understood as S = f (t), but also the view S = f (T). The latter correlation, developed based on results obtained using the contactless method, provide a new, so far poorly known image of the course of shrinkage in foundry alloys, especially cast iron with graphite in the structure. The study made use of hypo- and hypereutectic cast iron in order to generate an image of the differences which occur in the kinetics of shrinkage (as well as in pre-shrinkage expansion - expansion occurs during solidification).

The temperature of liquid steel for continuous casting determines the casting speed and cooling conditions. The failure to meet the required casting process parameters may result in obtaining slabs of inconsistent quality. Numerical methods allow for real processes to be modelled. There are professional computer programs on the market, so the results of the simulations allow us to understand the processes that occur during casting and solidification of a slab. The study attempts to evaluate the impact of the superheat temperature on the slab structure based on the industrial operating parameters of the continuous casting machine.

This article discusses issues related to continuous casting of brass. The tested material was CuZn39Pb2 brass with the use of continuous casting and different parameters of the process. The position consists of a melting furnace with a graphite refining pot of about 4000 cm3 chuting capacity, a graphite crystallizer of 9,5 mm nominal diameter, a primary and secondary cooling system and an extracting system as well. The analysis was carried out in terms of technological parameters of the process and type of charge. Highlighted: feedrate ingot, number of stops, and technological temperatures. The surface quality of the obtained ingots and the structure were analyzed. The most favorable conditions were indicated and technological recommendations indicated. They have been distinguished for ingots for plasticity and other technologies. Favorable casting conditions are low feed and low temperature. Due to the presence of impurities coming from the charge it is disadvantageous to have Ni greater than 0.053% by mass, and Fe more than 0.075% by mass. It is recommended to maintain a high zinc content in the melt which is associated with non-overheating of the metal during casting and earlier melting.

This article is a description of the progress of research and development in the area of massive large-scale castings - slag ladles implemented in cooperation with the Faculty of Foundry Engineering of UST in Krakow. Slag ladles are the one of the major castings that has been developed by the Krakodlew (massive castings foundry) for many years. Quality requirements are constantly increasing in relation to the slag ladles. Slag ladles are an integral tool in the logistics of enterprises in the metallurgical industry in the process of well-organized slag management and other by-products and input materials. The need to increase the volume of slag ladles is still growing. Metallurgical production is expected to be achieved in Poland by 2022 at the level of 9.4 million Mg/year for the baseline scenario - 2016 - 9 million Mg/year. This article describes the research work carried out to date in the field of technology for the production of massive slag ladles of ductile cast iron and cast steel.

The work presents the results of the investigations of the effect of the nitrogen (N2) refining time „τraf” and the gas output on the course of

the crystallization process, the microstructure and the gassing degree of silumin 226 used for pressure casting. The refinement of the

examined silumin was performed with the use of a device with a rotating head. The crystallization process was examined by way of

thermal analysis and derivative analysis TDA. The performed examinations showed that the prolongation of the N2 refining time causes

a significant rise of the temperature of the crystallization end of the silumin, „tL”, as well as a decrease of its gassing degree, „Z”. An

increase of the nitrogen output initially causes an increase of the temperature „tL” and a drop of the gassing degree „Z”, which reach their

maximal values with the output of 20 dm3

/min. Further increase of the output causes a decrease of the value „tL” and an increase of „Z”.

The examined technological factors of the refining process did not cause any significant changes in the microstructure of silumin 226.

The work presents the effect of strontium and antimony modification on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 226 silumin casts.

The performed research demonstrated that strontium causes high refinement of silicon precipitations in the eutectic present in the microstructure

of the examined silumin and it significantly affects the morphology of eutectic silicon from the lamellar to the fibrous one. Sr

modification also causes an increase of: the tensile strength „Rm” by 12%; the proof stress „Rp0,2” by 5%; the unit elongation „A” by 36%

and the hardness HB by 13%. Antimony did not cause a change in the microstructure of the silumin, yet it caused an increase in Rm and

HB by 5%, in Rp0,2 by 7% and in A by 4%.

Energy conservation is an important step to overcome the energy crisis and prevent environmental pollution. Casting industry is a major consumer of energy among all the industries. The distribution of electrical energy consumed in all the departments of the foundry is presented. Nearly 70% of the energy is consumed especially in the melting department alone. Production of casting involves number of process variables. Even though lot of efforts has been taken to prevent defects, it occurs in the casting due to variables present in the process. This paper focuses the energy saving by improving the casting yield and by reducing the rejections. Furthermore an analysis is made on power consumption for melting in the induction furnace to produce defective castings and improvement in the casting yield. The energy consumed to produce defective castings in all other departments is also presented. This analysis reveals that without any further investment in the foundry, it is possible to save 3248.15 kWh of energy by reducing the rejections as well as by improving the casting yield. The redesign of the feeding system and the reduced major rejection shrinkage in the body casting improved the casting yield from 56% to 72% and also the effective yield from 12.89% to 66.80%.

The article presents an analysis of the applicability of the Replicast CS process as an alternative to the investment casting process,

considered in terms of the dimensional accuracy of castings. Ceramic shell moulds were based on the Ekosil binder and a wide range of

ceramic materials, such as crystalline quartz, fused silica, aluminosilicates and zirconium silicate. The linear dimensions were measured

with a Zeiss UMC 550 machine that allowed reducing to minimum the measurement uncertainty.

A significant part of the knowledge used in the production processes is represented with natural language. Yet, the use of that knowledge

in computer-assisted decision-making requires the application of appropriate formal and development tools. An interesting possibility is

created by the use of an ontology that is understandable both for humans and for the computer. This paper presents a proposal for

structuring the information about the foundry processes, based on the definition of ontology adapted to the physical structure of the

ongoing technological operations that make up the process of producing castings.

Castability of thin-walled castings is sensitive to variation in casting parameters. The variation in casting parameters can lead to undesired casting conditions which result in defect formation. Variation in rejection rate due to casting defect from one batch to other is common problem in foundries and the cause of this variation usually remain unknown due to complexity of the process. In this work, variation in casting parameters resulting from human involvement in the process is investigated. Casting practices of different groups of casting operators were evaluated and resulting variations in casting parameters were discussed. The effect of these variations was evaluated by comparing the rejection statistics for each group. In order to minimize process variation, optimized casting practices were implemented by developing specific process instructions for the operators. The significance of variation in casting parameters in terms of their impact on foundry rejections was evaluated by comparing the number of rejected components before and after implementation of optimized casting practices. It was concluded that variation in casting parameters due to variation in casting practices of different groups has significant impact on casting quality. Variation in mould temperature, melt temperature and pouring rate due to variation in handling time and practice resulted in varying quality of component from one batch to other. By implementing the optimized casting instruction, both quality and process reliability were improved significantly.

Internal casting defects that are detected by radiography may also be detected by ultrasonic method. Ultrasonic testing allows investigation of the cross-sectional area of a casting, it is considered to be a volumetric inspection method. The high frequency acoustic energy travels through the casting until it hits the opposite surface or an interface or defect. The interface or defect reflects portions of the energy, which are collected in a receiving unit and displayed for the analyst to view. The pattern of the energy deflection can indicate internal defect. Ultrasonic casting testing is very complicated in practice. The complications are mainly due to the coarse-grain structure of the casting that causes a high ultrasound attenuation. High attenuation then makes it impossible to test the entire volume of material. This article is focused on measurement of attenuation, the effect of probe frequency on attenuation and testing results.

In contemporary high-pressure die casting foundries, the mastery of each sequence in the production cycle is more and more important. In the paper, an example of virtual analysis of gearbox casting from Al alloy will be presented. It includes a large variety of parameters, as follows: choosing of appropriate foundry technology, calculation of computer simulation of casting process which takes into account the filling process of cold chamber and filling of cavity, model description of three phases in high-pressure die casting, flow of molten metal, solidification, formation of stress and deformations. Additionally, the optimization of cooling and heating systems will be compared with calculated volume defects, dimensions of castings and their deformations with experimentally obtained values.

The casting workshop was discovered with numerous artifacts, confirming the existence of the manufacturing process of metal ornaments using ceramic molds and investment casting technology in Lower Silesia (Poland) in 7-6 BC. The research has yielded significant technological information about the bronze casting field, especially the alloys that were used and the artifacts that were made from them. Based on the analyses, the model alloys were experimentally reconstructed. Taking advantage of the computer-modeling method, a geometric visualization of the bronze bracelets was performed; subsequently, we simulated pouring liquid metal in the ceramic molds and observed the alloy solidification. These steps made it possible to better understand the casting processes from the perspective of the mold technology as well as the melting and casting of alloys.

Defects affect the properties and behavior of the casting during its service life. Since the defects can occur due to different reasons, they

must be correctly identified and categorized, to enable applying the appropriate remedial measures. several different approaches for

categorizing casting defects have been proposed in technical literature. They mainly rely on physical description, location, and formation

of defects. There is a need for a systematic approach for classifying investment casting defects, considering appropriate attributes such as

their size, location, identification stage, inspection method, consistency, appearance of defects. A systematic approach for categorization of

investment casting defects considering multiple attributes: detection stage, size, shape, appearance, location, consistency and severity of

occurrence. Information about the relevant attributes of major defects encountered in investment casting process has been collected from

an industrial foundry. This has been implemented in a cloud-based system to make the system freely and widely accessible.

The article presents the role of the ceramic layered moulds used in the investment casting method with new (certified) and recycled material from ceramic moulds (CM) after casting process. The materials that were obtained are mainly aluminosilicates and SiO2. The investigation of changes in the quality of ceramic moulds (including the recycled ceramic material) includes the chemical composition of the ceramics as recovered ceramic material, changes in the particle size of the layered covering material, the gas permeability during the pouring of liquid metal, and the creation of the porosity are presented. Than the thermophysical parameters and dimensional accuracy of the casting manufactured in the new ceramic layered shell moulds were analysed. Additionally the global cost savings and improved ecological conditions in the foundry and its surroundings was estimated.