Archives of Foundry Engineering

The article presents the results of research on the finishing of M63 Z4 brass by vibratory machining. Brass alloy was used for the research due to the common use of ammunition elements, cartridge case and good cold forming properties on the construction. Until now, the authors have not met with the results of research to determine the impact of abrasive pastes in container processing. It was found that the additive for container abrasive treatment of abrasive paste causes larger mass losses and faster surface smoothing effects. The treatment was carried out in two stages: in the first stage, the workpieces were deburred and then polished. Considerations were given to the impact of mass of workpieces, machining time and its type on mass loss and changes in the geometric structure of the surface. The surface roughness of machining samples was measured with the Talysurf CCI Lite optical profiler. The suggestions for future research may be to carry out tests using abrasive pastes with a larger granulation of abrasive grains, and to carry out tests for longer processing times and to determine the time after which the parameters of SGP change is unnoticeable.

The paper focuses on investigation of properties of two most widely used self-set sand binder systems APNB and FNB across the Globe, for making molds and cores in foundries to produce castings of different sizes involving wide range of metals and alloys, ferrous and nonferrous. This includes study of compression strength values of samples made out of molding sand at different binder addition level using new, mechanically reclaimed (MR) and thermally reclaimed (TR) sand. Strength values studied include dry strength (at room temperature) at specified intervals simulating different stages of mold handling, namely stripping and pre heating, followed by degraded strength after application of thinner based zircon wash by brush, subsequent lighting of, then checking strength both in warm (degraded strength) & cold (recovered strength) conditions. Throughout the cycle of mold movement from stripping to knock out, strength requirements can be divided into two broad classifications, one from stripping to closing (dry strength) and another from pouring to knock out (hot & retained strength). Although the process for checking of dry strength are well documented, no method using simple equipments for checking hot & retained strength are documented in literature. Attempts have been made in this paper to use some simple methods to standardize process for checking high strength properties using ordinary laboratory equipments. Temperature of 450°C has been chosen by trial & error method to study high temperature properties to get consistent & amplified values. Volume of gases generated for both binders in laboratory at 850°C have also been measured. Nature of gases including harmful BTEX and PAH generated on pyrolysis of FNB and APNB bonded sands are already documented in a publication [1]. This exercise has once again been repeated in same laboratory, AGH University, Poland with latest binder formulations in use in two foundries in India.

This paper focuses on the thermal behavior of the starch-based binder (Albertine F/1 by Hüttenes-Albertus) used in foundry technology of molding sand. The analysis of the course of decomposition of the starch material under controlled heating in the temperature range of 25-1100°C was conducted. Thermal analysis methods (TG-DTG-DSC), pyrolysis gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRIFT) were used. The application of various methods of thermal analysis and spectroscopic methods allows to verify the binder decomposition process in relation to conditions in the form in both inert and oxidizing atmosphere. It was confirmed that the binder decomposition is a complex multistage process. The identification of CO2 formation at set temperature range indicated the progressive process of decomposition. A qualitative evaluation of pyrolysis products was carried out and the course of structural changes occurring in the presence of oxygen was determined based on thermo-analytical investigations the temperature of the beginning of binder degradation in set condition was determined. It was noticed that, significant intensification of Albertine F/1 sample decomposition with formation of more degradation products took place at temperatures above 550ºC. Aromatic hydrocarbons were identified at 1100ºC.

The results presented in this article are part of the research on fatigue life of various foundry alloys carried out in recent years in the Lukasiewicz Research Network – Institute of Precision Mechanics and AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Foundry Engineering. The article discusses the test results obtained for the EN-GJS-600-3 cast iron in an original modified low-cycle fatigue test (MLCF), which seems to be a beneficial research tool allowing its users to evaluate the mechanical properties of materials with microstructural heterogeneities under both static and dynamic loads. For a comprehensive analysis of the mechanical behaviour with a focus on fatigue life of alloys, an original modified low cycle fatigue method (MLCF) adapted to the actually available test machine was used. The results of metallographic examinations carried out by light microscopy were also presented. From the analysis of the results of the conducted mechanical tests and structural examinations it follows that the MLCF method is fully applicable in a quick and economically justified assessment of the quality of ductile iron after normalizing treatment.

The high pressure die casting technology allows the production of complex casts with good mechanical properties, with high production repeatability within narrow tolerance limits. However, the casts are somewhat porous, which may reduce their mechanical properties. There are several recommendations for reducing the porosity of casts, which are aimed at setting the technological parameters of the casting cycle. One of the primary and important ways to reduce the porosity and air entrapment in the melt is a suitable gating system design. Submitted contribution is devoted to assessing the influence of the runner branching geometry on the air entrapment within the cast volume during the filling phase of the casting cycle. Four variants of the gating system for a particular cast are compared with different design of main runner branching. The initial design is based on a real gating system where the secondary runner is connected to the main runner at an angle of 90 °. The modified designs are provided with a continuous transition of the main runner into the secondary ones, with the change in the branching runner radius r1 = 15 mm, r2 = 25 mm and r3 = 35 mm. The air entrapment in the melt is assessed within the cast volume behind the cores, which have been evaluated as a critical points with respect to further mechanical treatment. When designing the structural modification of geometry it was assumed that by branch changing using the radius value r3 = 35 mm, the melt flows fluently, and thus the value of the entrapped air in the volume of the cast will be the lowest. This assumption was disproved. The lowest values of entrapped air in the melt were found in the casts with runner transition designed with radius r1 = 15 mm. The conclusion of the contribution explains the causes of this phenomenon and from a designing point of view it presents proposal for measures to reduce the entrapment of the air in casts.

Results of a research on influence of chromium, molybdenum and aluminium on structure and selected mechanical properties of Ni-Mn-Cu cast iron in the as-cast and heat-treated conditions are presented. All raw castings showed austenitic matrix with relatively low hardness, making the material machinable. Additions of chromium and molybdenum resulted in higher inclination to hard spots. However, a small addition of aluminium slightly limited this tendency. Heat treatment consisting in soaking the castings at 500 °C for 4 h resulted in partial transformation of austenite to acicular, carbon-supersaturated ferrite, similar to the bainitic ferrite. A degree of this transformation depended not only on the nickel equivalent value (its lower value resulted in higher transformation degree), but also on concentrations of Cr and Mo (transformation degree increased with increasing total concentration of both elements). The castings with the highest hard spots degree showed the highest hardness, while hardness increase, caused by heat treatment, was the largest in the castings with the highest austenite transformation degree. Addition of Cr and Mo resulted in lower thermodynamic stability of austenite, so it appeared a favourable solution. For this reason, the castings containing the highest total amount of Cr and Mo with an addition of 0.4% Al (to reduce hard spots tendency) showed the highest tensile strength.