NON-FERROUS CASTING ALUMINIUM ALLOYS

Shrinkage Porosity Estimation of

Cylindrical Shape Cast Aluminium
Alloys
S. Santhi1, S. B. Sakri2, D. Hanumantha Rao3, S. Sundarrajan4
1
Assistant Professor, MGIT, Hyderabad, [email protected], 2Technical Officer, DRDL,
Hyderabad, 3Professor, M.V.S.R. Engineering College, Hyderabad,
4
Director, National Institute of Technology, Trichy

Introduction Shrinkage characteristic of cylindrical shape US A356 and

US 413 cast aluminium alloys have been discussed in the
The aluminium alloys (Al-alloys), are prone to defects, such
present study. The reduction in specific volume leads to
as shrinkage, one of the chronic problems, which impact shrinkage in castings and it can be visualised as a casting
on the quality of the castings. Due to the increasing use of defect. The shrinkage characteristic has been studied using
aluminium castings, shrinkage characteristics are useful for finite difference-based casting process simulation software
improving mechanical properties of the castings1. A. Reis and it is quantified using mathematical formulae. CAD has
etal stated 2 that the physics of formation of shrinkage been used for construction of three-dimensional model
porosity has been involving interactions among many of the shrinkage defect. Shrinkage characteristic has also
physical phenomena such as heat transfer, fluid flow in the been quantified through experimental validation studies
liquid stage including natural convection, flow in the mushy and compared well with casting process simulation.
zone, solidification shrinkage, deformation of the solid skin Shrinkage characteristic study and control is essential for
due to the formation of under-pressure and many more. producing defect-free castings.
Prediction of the behaviour of the liquid metal during Keywords: Shrinkage porosity, Aluminium alloy, Casting
solidification has been important to consider the different shape, Process simulation, Solid model.
modes of shrinkage and trace the evolution of the liquid
metal-free surface3. The quantity of shrinkage and porosity
simulation software has been installed at The Institute of
has been depending on the thermal cooling conditions,
Indian Foundrymen (R&D) Centre, Hyderabad.
the alloy content and the casting temperature.
The casting process simulation is time and temperature Experimental Plan
dependent. Solidification or freezing of castings is a non- It has been observed from the literature that shrinkage
linear transient phenomenon and it involves modification characteristics influencing parameters are alloy composition,
of phase with liberation of latent heat from a moving liquid- shape of casting, mould coat, bottom chill, pouring time,
solid boundary. The casting simulation programmes have mould sand and pouring temperature6.
been predicting temperature distribution or hot spots in
the castings and use material data. In order to predict For the present study, casting shape, bottom chill, pouring
shrinkage and porosity, the thermal properties are defined temperature and alloy composition are considered as the
as a function of the temperature4,5. Shrinkage porosity has process parameters.
been predicted by detecting open, partially closed and Alloy composition affects the shrinkage characteristics,
closed liquid regions by utilising appropriate boundary mechanical properties and structure of the cast product.
conditions. Casting process simulations have been carried Chemical composition of the alloys considered for the
out using Virtual Casting software. It is a programme for present study are given in Table-1.
the simulation of the solidification process of industrial
castings using FDM. This software has been developed by The rate of heat exchange depends on thermo-physical
Regional Research Laboratory, Thrivandrum. This casting properties of liquid metal, wall thickness of casting and its

Table-1: Chemical Composition (%wt)

Alloy Si Fe Cu Mn Mg Ni Zn Pb Sn Ti Each Total Al
US A356 6.5-7.5 0.55 0.2 0.35 0.2-0.65 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.05 0.05-0.25 0.05 0.15 Rem
US 413 10.5-13.5 0.65 0.15 0.55 0.1 0.1 0.15 0.1 – 0.2 0.05 0.15 Rem

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 ALUMINIUM ALLOYS NON-FERROUS CASTING

shape7. The dimensional details and pouring technique of Simulation Studies

the castings have been provided in Table-2.
Virtual casting is based on finite difference method. Virtual
Pouring temperature8 influences fluidity, porosity, strength casting software has been creating a virtual environment
and structure of the casting. Hence, pouring temperature for casting solidification process9, predicting and analysing
with 500C of superheat was considered as one of the process the occurrence of shrinkage defects. The input data for the
parameters for the present study. casting process simulation is a solid model of the casting
Table-2: Dimensional details of the cylindrical shape with Methoding and material properties or thermal
for shrinkage characteristic properties. Virtual casting consists of three major
processes; Pre-processing, Solving the Governing Equations
Shape Dimension, Pouring Volume,
and Post-processing or Visualisation of results.
mm technique cc
The interfacial heat transfer coefficient is the rate of heat
Cylinder Ø90x90 572.265 loss through the metal/mould interfaces which influence the
mould filling and shrinkage or volume deficit characteristics.
However, interfacial heat transfer coefficient is not a simple
Another processing parameter is bottom chill which shows material property and is dependent upon chemical, physical
significant difference in the casting characteristics, promotes interfacial conditions, mould and casting material properties
directional solidification, help in eliminating shrinkage and casting geometry . The selection of interfacial heat
porosity defects. Mild steel bottom chill is considered for transfer coefficient values as well as boundary conditions
the present study. The details of the number of experiments at the metal/mould interface affect the accuracy of the
conducted have been given Table-3. simulations. In the present investigations, interfacial heat
Table 3: Details of the Number of Experiments transfer coefficient values for conformity of computer
simulation and the experimental measurements are in
Exp run order Alloy Chill Pouring temperature (0C) consistency. The thermo-physical properties of the USA 356
1. US A356 Chill T+50 and US 413 alloys, bottom chill and silica sand10 for the
casting simulation have been given in Table-411,12,13.
2. US A356 Chill T
The solid model of shrinkage characteristics which is
3. US A356 N T+50 imported in the stl file format as the solution ___domain, divides
4. US A356 N T into small finite cells of casting and mould with a material
id. Boundar y conditions are assigned at all material
5. US 413 Chill T
interfaces like metal, mould, ambient and mould coat. For
6. US 413 Chill T+50 shrinkage simulation, the exit fraction of solid is 1. The exit
solid fraction is the total volume per cent of solid at which
7. US 413 N T
the solver exits. For example, the value of 1 for exit solid
8. US 413 N T+50 fraction means that the simulation will be done till the casting
is 100% solidified.
Casting Process Simulation
Solid Model
Simulation studies on shrinkage characteristics of aluminium
alloy have been conducted using the virtual casting
commercial software 9. The solid models for shrinkage
simulations were created using the Solidworks. The solid
model or test piece for cube shape casting is given in
Fig. 1.

Fig. 2: Typical contour plots showing porosity

Fig. 1: Solid model/Test piece for cylindrical-shape casting distribution for simulation run order 4.
and bottom chill.

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Table-4: Thermophysical Data for Casting Process Simulation

S. No. Parameter US A 356 US 413 Sand MS Chill
1. Melting point, ( C)0
660 574 – –
2. Thermal conductivity, W/mm.K 0.159249 0.121338 90.27×10 -5
4.5×10-2
3. Density of solid (g/cc) 2.68496 2.65772 1.5219 7.84
4. Liquidus temperature ( C) 0
613 574 – –
5. Freezing range ( C) 0
127.8 30.6 – –
6. Latent heat of fusion, J/kg 388442 389112 – –
7. Specific heat, J/kg.k 962.944 1170 1076.0076 460.548
8. Heat Transfer Coefficient, HTC, W/m k 2

Metal-mould 0.0035 0.0025 – –

Metal-coating mould 0.0015 0.0012 – –

Shrinkage occurs in metallic materials during freezing and Shrinkage porosity distributed for simulation run order 4
cooling due to reduction in specific volume, a physical from 80-92mm from the flat bottom is given in Table-5.
characteristic. The defects can be reduced by reducing the
Table-5: Shrinkage Porosity for Simulation Run
shrinkage, controlling the distribution of shrinkage and
Order 4
balance it using feeders and chills. The information
regarding the shrinkage and distribution is thus essential S. No. Distance from the flat Volume cc
in minimising casting defects. Using virtual casting software, bottom, mm
macro shrinkage and micro shrinkage have been envisaged. 1 80 15.49288
The contour plots showing the ___location and magnitude of
porosity formed during the solidification for simulation run 2 84 10.63793
order number 4 has been shown in Fig. 2. 3 88 10.8578
Construction of 3D Shrinkage Porosity 4 92 15.55

The present study shows the volume of the shrinkage Total volume 52.53861
porosity of the casting at various locations, which is difficult
Porosity distribution in these four locations is 0.499 which
to measure in 2D. Hence, 3D SolidWorks software has been
is obtained from the contour plot for this particular
used for generating 3D model of the images. The large
simulation run order 4. The amount of shrinkage porosity
tolerance level typical of (0.1mm) foundry process has been
distribution in these regions has been calculated and given
considered for the present study14.
in Table-6.
The contour plot data for simulation run order 10 at four
Table-6: Shrinkage Porosity Distribution in the Regions
locations starting from 80mm from the flat bottom to 92mm
for Simulation Run Order 4
have been converted to solid model part (sldpart). Figure
3 shows constructed porosity of the simulation run order Total volume of shrinkage 52.53861
10 using SolidWorks software is given below. porosity
Amount of shrinkage porosity Total volume × maximum
84mm from bottom 88mm from bottom distribution in these regions porosity distribution in these
regions
52.53861× 0.499
26.21677
Amount of shrinkage porosity 26.21677/ volume of the
in the casting casting from table
26.21672/572.265
0.045812
Volume is 15.49288 cc Volume is 10.8578 cc % Amount of shrinkage porosity 4.5812
in the casting for simulation run
Fig. 3: Constructed porosity of the simulation run order 4.
order 13
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The porosity distribution for all the 8 simulation runs has progressively inwards. It advances from the mould walls
been calculated in the similar way. The results are tabulated towards the interior with the liquidus isotherm. Finely
and given in Table 7. dispersed internal porosity exists throughout the entire
casting section.
Table-7: Shrinkage Porosity for 8 Casting Process Simulations
Exp Run Order %Shrinkage Porosity The molten metal volume decreases during solidification
due to the atoms drawing nearer and coming to fixed lattice
1 3.473 positions resulting in shrinkage. This shrinkage occurs in
2 3.85 three stages - shrinkage of the molten metal during cooling,
shrinkage due to solidification, shrinkage from solidification
3 3.8 temperature to room temperature.
4 4.582
Influence of Chill
5 3.34
Bottom chill extracts heat locally. However, there is an
6 3.04 increased rate of heat extraction from the liquid metal and
7 3.4 compensation of solidification shrinkage during the pouring
time of molten metal increases. This shows a reduction in
8 3.3 shrinkage porosity.
Results and Discussion The rate of heat extraction and the temperature gradients
inside the solidifying metal influence the solidification.
For the present investigation, short freezing alloy US 413 Change in temperature gradient by the presence of chill
and long freezing US A356 alloy have been considered. has no effect on macro solidification and hence macro
Shrinkage normally occurs during the freezing process due cavities are not influenced. Chill promotes faster temperature
to increase in density (when liquid metal solidifies). gradient in the solidifying metal and increases its feeding
Hypothetically, if there were no nuclei to let shrinkage to capacity, thus reducing internal porosity and pore size. The
initiate at internal sites, all the contraction is generally seen influence of bottom chill on the shrinkage porosity is given
on the outside surface. But there are plenty of internal sites in Fig. 4.
for the nucleation of shrinkage, and this internal shrinkage
appears as porosity. Oxide films and non-metallic inclusions
are primary causes for porosity15.
Macro shrinkage occurs when the liquid metal is surrounded
by significant amount of solid material, which is strong
enough to resist the depression of the contracting liquid 16.
Macro shrinkage is a concentrated zone of shrinkage holes
or single shrinkage cavity in cast products that can be
detected through non-destructive tests such as radiography,
ultrasound, and magnetic particle method.
Short Freezing Range Alloy
When short freezing range alloy cools in a sand mould, the Fig. 4 : Influence of chill.
portion of the liquid which first reaches the liquidus
temperature begins to solidify. The crystal growth on the
Experimental Validation Studies
solidification front has been relatively short and corresponds
to the start of solidification at their peak and the end of The experimental validation studies have been conducted
solidification at their bases. Even at relatively low thermal to validate the casting process simulation results. On the
gradients, these alloys show directional solidification. Internal basis of experimental validation studies, it is possible to
porosity within the casting develops into small open cavities compare and validate the simulation process results with
which occur near the end of the solidification when the feed reality and optimisation. To evaluate the influence of process
metal is cut off by merging of parallel solidification fronts. parameters 2 (simulation run order 4 and 6) experiments
have been conducted and schematic diagram of the testing
Long Freezing Range Alloy arrangement for cube shape casting is shown in Fig. 5. These
For long freezing range alloys, the growth of directional experiments have been designated as exp run order 1 to
solidification is difficult though a thin skin initially forms on 2. Prepared mould, overflow core and pouring basin for
the mould walls, solidification does not proceed rectangular, cube and cylinder shape castings have been

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shown in Fig. 6. The overflow core is placed over the mould distilled water with wetting agent is dropped into the
in order to ensure that a fixed quantity of metal only is cavity till it is completely filled. The titration volume Vtitr
poured each time into the mould. is read from the burette. The macrocavity, Vm is given
by
Moulding, Melting and Pouring
Vm = Vcone + Vtitr
Moulds are prepared using green sand process. The sand
composition consists of bentonite 5-6% of sand weight and 2. The weight of casting in air and while immersed in
water is 5-8% of sand weight. Moulds are prepared with water are determined using a sensitive balance of
accuracy 0.001gm
pouring basin
V = (weight in air – weight in water)
overflow 3. The theoretical volume, V theoretical is obtained as
core
follows :
overflow
Vtheor = Weight in air / (Theoretical maximum density
where the theoretical maximum density is obtained
Mould from chill specimen)

Fig. 5: Schematic diagram for Fig. 6: The assembled Table-8: Shrinkage Porosity for Experimental Run
the volume deficit experiment mould for volume deficit Order 1
for cube shape casting. experiment. S.No. Parameter Exp run order 1
slight ramming. The patterns have been stripped after 3 1. Gair(Wt),gm 1508
hours. The alloy is melted in an electric resistance furnace 2. Vtheor 562.6865672
of capacity 20kg provided with mild steel crucible.
Temperature is measured with the help of a thermocouple. 3. V=(Gair-Gwater)cc 563
4. Vtitr, cc 10
5. Vcone, gm 17.5
6. Vcone,cc 6.529850746
7. Vint (V- Vtheor) cc 0.313432836
8. Vtitr+Vcon+ Vint, cc 16.84328358
9. Vmould,cc 591.553
10. Shrinkage porosity 16.84328358/591.553
= 0.028472992
Cylinder – US A356 Cylinder –US 413 0.028472992
Fig. 7: Solidified castings of the experimental validation 11. % Shrinkage porosity 2.847
studies.
The internal porosity Vint is computed as follows :
The furnace is put off and the crucible is lifted and put in a
tilting device. The metal is tapped into a smaller crucible Vint = V – Vtheor
for pouring into the mould. Figure 7 shows the rectangular, Shrinkage porosity is given by = (Vm+Vint)/Vmould
cylinder and cube-shaped solidified castings of the
experimental validation studies. Table 9: Shrinkage Porosity Values for the remaining
2 experiments
Shrinkage Porosity Calculations for the Exp Run Order %Shrinkage Porosity
Experimental Studies
2 2.108
Shrinkage porosity calculations for the experimental studies
have been given below : Shrinkage porosity for experimental run order 1 is given
below in Table-8 using the above calculations.
1. The test casting is taken out of the mould and the cone The shrinkage porosity values for the remaining 2
portion is cut off. The volume of the pipe has been experiments have been calculated in similar way using the
measured by keeping the casting under a burette and above calculations and are given in Table-9.
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Analysis of Simulation and Experimental References

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