METAL CASTING

TECHNOLOGY
 STRENGTHENING
MECHANISM IN CASTING

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 STRENGTHENING MECHANISM IN CASTING
Ferrous metals contains different alloying elements.
● Chromium,
● Nickel,
● Molybdenum,
● Vanadium,
● Manganese.
Those give ferrous steels material properties that make them
widely used in engineering.

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STRENGTHENING MECHANISM IN CASTING

A list of ferrous metal properties:

• Durable
1. Great tensile strength
2. Usually magnetic
3. Low resistance to corrosion
4. A silver-like colour
5. Recyclable
6. Good conductors of electricity
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 STRENGTHENING MECHANISM IN CASTING
● These qualities make them usable in constructions of long-lasting
skyscrapers. On top of that, they are utilised in making tools, vehicle
engines, pipelines, containers, automobiles, cutlery etc.
● The automotive industry is the largest market for aluminum casting.
● Cast products make up more than half of the aluminum used in cars.
● Cast aluminum transmission housings and pistons have been commonly
used in cars and trucks since the early 1900s.
● Parts of small appliances, hand tools, lawnmowers and other machinery are
produced from thousands of different unique aluminum casting shapes.
● The casting product most often used by consumers is cookware, the first
aluminum product that was made available for everyday use.
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 STRENGTHENING MECHANISM IN CASTING
• Aluminum is the second most commonly used metal after steel.
Common engineering applications of aluminum include aerospace,
automotive, buildings, and soda and beer cans.
• Aluminum has some unique properties: it is very light compared to
steel, it has very good electrical and thermal conductivity, and it
does not rust like steel if left in air.
• However, pure aluminum is soft.
• There are several families of wrought aluminum alloys.
• Each family is based on specific major alloying elements added to
the aluminum.
• These alloying elements have a large influence on the properties.
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 STRENGTHENING MECHANISM IN CASTING
The different families of alloys and the major alloying elements are
● 1xxx: no alloying elements
● 2xxx: Copper
● 3xxx: Manganese
● 4xxx: Silicon
● 5xxx: Magnesium
● 6xxx: Magnesium and silicon
● 7xxx: Zinc, magnesium, and copper

The strength of aluminum alloys can be modified through various combinations of

cold working, alloying, and heat treating. All the alloys can be strengthened by cold
working processes such as cold rolling or wire drawing. 7
Alloy Methods for increasing strength Yield Strength ksi Tensile Strength, ksi
series (MPa) (MPa)

1xxx Cold-working 4-24 (30-165) 10-27 (70-185)

2xxx Cold-working, Precipitation 11-64 (75-440) 27-70 (185-485)

3xxx Cold working, solid solution, 6-36 (40-250) 16-41 (110-285)

dispersion

4xxx Cold working, dispersion 46 (315) 55 (380)

5xxx Cold working, solid solution 6-59 (40-405) 18-63 (125-435)

6xxx Cold working, precipitation 7-55 (50-380) 13-58 (90-400)

7xxx Cold working, precipitation 15-78 (105-540) 33-88 (230-605)

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 STRENGTHENING MECHANISM IN CASTING
Cold working
● Cold working involves the reduction in thickness of a material.
● Plate and sheet of different thickness are produced by cold rolling.
● Wire and tubes of different diameter and wall thickness are produced by
drawing.
● All aluminum alloys can be strengthened by cold working.
● During the cold working, the strength of a metal increases due to the increase
in the number of dislocations in the metal compared to its pre-cold-worked
condition.

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Solid solution strengthening

● Certain alloying elements added to aluminum mix with
the aluminum atoms in a way that results in increased
metal strength.
● This mixture is called a solid solution because the
alloying atoms are mixed in with the aluminum atoms.

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 STRENGTHENING MECHANISM IN CASTING
.Precipitation Strengthening
● With precipitation strengthening, particles less than
0.001 mm in diameter form inside the metal.
● These particles are called precipitates and consist of
compounds of aluminum and alloying elements or
compounds of the alloying elements.

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 STRENGTHENING MECHANISM IN CASTING
.Precipitation Strengthening
● This figure shows Al-Cu precipitates in an Al-Cu
alloy.Precipitates form as a result of a series of heat treating
processes.
● The step of the process during which precipitates form is
called aging.
● Precipitation strengthening can increase the yield strength of
aluminum from about five times up to about fifteen times that
of unalloyed aluminum.
● The strength depends on the specific alloy and the aging heat
treatment temperature.
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 STRENGTHENING MECHANISM IN CASTING

● Only certain alloys can be precipitation strengthened.

● The 2xxx, 6xxx, and 7xxx alloys can be precipitation
strengthened through the formation of Al-Cu (2xxx),
Mg-Si (6xxx), and Al-Zn-Mg-(Cu) (7xxx) precipitates.

● The 1xxx, 3xxx, 4xxx, and 5xxx alloys cannot be

precipitation strengthened.
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 STRENGTHENING MECHANISM IN CASTING
Dispersion strengthening
● Dispersoid particles form during the aluminum casting
process when manganese in 3xxx series alloys reacts
with aluminum and iron and silicon. These particles are
less than 0.001 mm in diameter.
● Dispersoid particles influence the grain structure that
forms during heat treating so that there is increased
strength compared to an alloy without dispersoids.
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Dispersion strengthening
● Fully-annealed 1100 aluminum has tensile strength of
13 ksi and yield strength of 5 ksi.
● Fully-annealed 3003 has minimum tensile strength of
16 ksi and minimum yield strength of 6 ksi.
● This increase in strength is due to the grain structure
formed as a result of the presence of dispersoids.

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Additive strengthening
● Finally, the methods of strengthening aluminum
discussed here are often combined to provide even
higher strength alloys.
● Solid solution strengthened alloys are often cold-
worked and precipitation strengthening is sometimes
combined with cold working prior to the aging step.

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ADDING CHEMICAL COMPONENTS:

● This invention relates to a treatment of gray cast irons and

malleable cast irons in the stage shortly after their or medium.
● Objects of the invention are to strengthen the metal, reduce
porosity, eliminate shrinkages and improve the micro structure of
the finished product. object is to raise the freezing temperature
of the metal, which limits the need for heavy risers and other
external means for the feeding of a casting.
● This produces a cast iron which is stronger throughout and with
resultant greatly increased transverse and tensile strength.
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ADDING CHEMICAL COMPONENTS:
● Carbide stabilizing elements as chromium and the like are used, the
increase in strength is not quite so much, but the product so treated by
my method shows a marked refinement in grain structure.
● It is to be noted that the application of my in proved method produces
results similar to cast irons containing added alloys, such as nickel,
copper and chromium, which is important at the present time inasmuch
as they are more or less defense items and consequently are scarce, and
difficult to obtain.
● There is a considerable reduction in shrink age, largely eliminating
porosity and cavities.
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 STRENGTHENING MECHANISM IN CASTING
ADDING CAST FREE DEFECTS:

Some defects are common to any and all process.There are numerous
opportunities in the casting operation for different defects to appear in
the cast product. Some of them are common to all casting processes

Misruns: Casting solidifies before completely fill the mold. Reasons

are low pouring temperature, slow pouring or thin cross section of
casting.
Remedies: Long, thin sections are subject to this defect and should be
avoided in casting design.
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ADDING CAST FREE DEFECTS:

Cold shut: Two portions flow together but without fusion between them. Causes
are similar to those of a misrun.
Remedies: Assuring sufficient superheat in the poured metal and thick enough
walls in the casting design.

Cold shots: When splattering occurs during pouring, solid globules of metal are
entrapped in the casting. Proper gating system designs could avoid this defect.
Remedies:Modifying pouring procedures to minimize turbulence,Adjusting
gating system designs to reduce gate speed

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 STRENGTHENING MECHANISM IN CASTING
Shrinkage cavity: Voids resulting from shrinkage. The problem can
often be solved by proper riser design but may require some changes
in the part design as well.
Defects:1) Design the riser sufficiently large.2) Ensure Directional
Solidification.

Microporosity: Network of small voids distributed throughout the

casting. The defect occurs more often in alloys, because of the
manner they solidify.
Remedies: porosity which is not only caused by the volume deficit
but is also a consequence of the gas development by the mold and
core mold material. 21
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Hot tearing:
● Cracks caused by low mold collapsibility.They occur when the
material is restrained from contraction during solidification. A
proper mold design can solve the problem.
● Some defects are typical only for some particular casting
processes, for instance, many defects occur in sand casting as a
result of interaction between the sand mold and the molten metal.
● Defect found primarily in sand casting are gas cavities, rough
surface areas, shift of the two halves of the mold, or shift of the
core, etc.
Remedies: Modifying the mold to improve collapsibility can easily
resolve these issues. 22
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HEAT TREATMENT:

● Heat treatment is the process of heating and cooling metals, using specific
predetermined methods to obtain desired properties.
● Both ferrous as well as non-ferrous metals undergo heat treatment before
putting them to use.
The Benefits:
● There are various reasons for carrying out heat treating. Some procedures make
the metal soft, while others increase hardness.
● They may also affect the electrical and heat conductivity of these
materials.Some heat treatment methods relieve stresses induced in earlier cold
working processes.
● Others develop desirable chemical properties to metals. Choosing the perfect
method really comes down to the type of metal and the required properties. 24
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 STRENGTHENING MECHANISM IN CASTING
Heat Treatment Process Steps:
● These include the time of heating, time of keeping the metal part
at a certain temperature, rate of cooling, surrounding conditions,
etc.
● The parameters depend on the heat treatment method, type of
metal and part size.Over the course of this process, the metal’s
properties will change.
● Among those properties are electrical resistance, magnetism,
hardness, toughness, ductility, brittleness and corrosion
resistance.
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 STRENGTHENING MECHANISM IN CASTING

Heat Treatment Process Steps:

● These include the time of heating, time of keeping the metal part
at a certain temperature, rate of cooling, surrounding conditions,
etc.
● The parameters depend on the heat treatment method, type of
metal and part size.
● Over the course of this process, the metal’s properties will change.
● Among those properties are electrical resistance, magnetism,
hardness, toughness, ductility, brittleness and corrosion resistance.

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 STRENGTHENING MECHANISM IN CASTING
HEAT TREATMENT:

● Heat treatment is the process of heating and cooling metals, using specific
predetermined methods to obtain desired properties.
● Both ferrous as well as non-ferrous metals undergo heat treatment before putting them
to use.
The Benefits:
● There are various reasons for carrying out heat treating. Some procedures make the
metal soft, while others increase hardness.
● They may also affect the electrical and heat conductivity of these materials.Some heat
treatment methods relieve stresses induced in earlier cold working processes.
● Others develop desirable chemical properties to metals. Choosing the perfect method
really comes down to the type of metal and the required properties.

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 STRENGTHENING MECHANISM IN CASTING
HEAT TREATMENT:

Heat treatment is the process of heating and cooling metals, using specific
predetermined methods to obtain desired properties. Both
ferrous as well as non-ferrous metals undergo heat treatment before putting
them to use.
The Benefits:
There are various reasons for carrying out heat treating. Some procedures
make the metal soft, while others increase hardness. They may also affect the
electrical and heat conductivity of these materials.Some heat treatment
methods relieve stresses induced in earlier cold working processes. Others
develop desirable chemical properties to metals. Choosing the perfect method
really comes down to the type of metal and the required properties.
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 STRENGTHENING MECHANISM IN CASTING
Heat Treatment Process Steps:
● Heat treatment is the process of heating the metal, holding it at
that temperature, and then cooling it back.
● During the process, the metal part will undergo changes in its
mechanical properties.
● This is because the high temperature alters the microstructure
of the metal.
● And microstructure plays an important role in the mechanical
properties of a material.

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 STRENGTHENING MECHANISM IN CASTING
Heat Treatment Process Steps:
● The final outcome depends on many different factors. These
include the time of heating, time of keeping the metal part at a
certain temperature, rate of cooling, surrounding conditions, etc.
● The parameters depend on the heat treatment method, type of
metal and part size.Over the course of this process, the metal’s
properties will change.
● Among those properties are electrical resistance, magnetism,
hardness, toughness, ductility, brittleness and corrosion
resistance.
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 STRENGTHENING MECHANISM IN CASTING
Heating:
● The microstructure of alloys will change during heat treatment. Heating is
carried out in line with a prescribed thermal profile.
● An alloy may exist in one of three different states when heated. It may either
be a mechanical mixture, a solid solution, or a combination of both.
● A mechanical mixture is analogous to a concrete mixture where cement binds
sand and gravel together.
● Sand and gravel are still visible as separate particles.
● With metal alloys, the mechanical mixture is held together by the base
metal.On the other hand, in a solid solution, all the components are mixed
homogeneously.
● This means that they cannot be identified individually even under a
microscope.
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Holding:
● During the holding, or soaking stage, the metal is kept
at the achieved temperature.
● The duration of that depends on the requirements.The
soaking time also depends on the material type and
part size.
● Larger parts need more time when uniform properties
are the objective.
● It just takes longer for the core of a large part to reach
the required temperature.
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Cooling:
● After the soaking stage is complete, the metal must be cooled in a prescribed
manner. At this stage, too, structural changes occur.
● A solid solution on cooling may stay the same, become a mechanical mixture
completely or partially, depending on various factors.
● Different media such as brine, water, oil or forced air control the rate of
cooling.
● The sequence of cooling media named above is in decreasing order of
effective rate of cooling.
● Brine absorbs heat fastest, while air is the slowest.It is also possible to use
furnaces in the cooling process.
● The controlled environment allows for high precision when slow cooling is
necessary.
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Common Heat Treatment Methods
Annealing:
● In annealing, the metal is heated beyond the upper critical temperature
and then cooled at a slow rate.
● Annealing is carried out to soften the metal.
● It makes the metal more suitable for cold working and forming.
● It also enhances the metal’s machinability, ductility and toughness.
● Annealing is also useful in relieving stresses in the part caused due to
prior cold working processes.
● The plastic deformations present are removed during recrystallisation
when the metal temperature crosses the upper critical temperature.

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Common Heat Treatment Methods
Normalising:
● Normalising is a heat treatment process used for relieving internal stresses
caused by processes such as welding, casting, or quenching.
● In this process, the metal is heated to a temperature that is 40° C above its
upper critical temperature.
● This temperature is higher than the one used for hardening or annealing.
After holding it at this temperature for a designated period of time, it is
cooled in air.
● Normalising creates a uniform grain size and composition throughout the
part.Normalised steels are harder and stronger than annealed steel. In fact, in
its normalised form, steel is tougher than in any other condition.
● This is why parts that require impact strength or need to support massive
external loads will almost always be normalised.
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Common Heat Treatment Methods
Hardening:
● hardening is used to increase the hardness of a metal.
In some cases, only the surface may be hardened.
● A work piece is hardened by heating it to the specified
temperature, then cooling it rapidly by submerging it
into a cooling medium.
● Oil, brine or water may be used.

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● The resulting part will have increased hardness and strength, but the
brittleness increases too simultaneously.
● A hardened surface provides protection from that and the core still has
the necessary properties to handle fatigue stresses.
Stress Relieving:
● Stress relieving is especially common for boiler parts, air bottles,
accumulators, etc.
● This method takes the metal to a temperature just below its lower
critical border.
● The cooling process is slow and therefore uniform.
● This is done to relieve stresses that have built in up in the parts due to
earlier processes such as forming, machining, rolling or straightening.
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Tempering:
● Tempering is the process of reducing excess hardness, and
therefore brittleness, induced during the hardening process.
Internal stresses are also relieved.
● Undergoing this process can make a metal suitable for many
applications that need such properties.
● The temperatures are usually much lower than hardening
temperatures.
● The higher the temperature used, the softer the final work piece
becomes.
● The rate of cooling does not affect the metal structure during
tempering and usually, the metal cools in still air. 38
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Carburisation:
● In this heat treatment process, the metal is heated in
the presence of another material that releases carbon
on decomposition.
● The released carbon is absorbed into the surface of the
metal.
● The carbon content of the surface increases, making it
harder than the inner core.

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