Madhusudhan et. al. / International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Vol.

2(11), 2010, 6092-6096

EFFECT OF MOULD WALL THICKNESS ON RATE OF SOLIDIFICATION OF CENTRIFUGAL CASTING

Madhusudhan1, Narendranaath S2, Mohankumar G C 2, Mukunda P G 1
1 2

Department of Mechanical Engineering Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Yelahanka, Bangalore Department of Mechanical Engineering National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal

ABSTRACT In Centrifugal Casting process the centrifugal force presses the metal against the inner wall of the metal mould, resulting in rapid solidification of the molten metal. However the solidification structures like structural uniformity and structural character of the solidified metal of centrifugal casting is of great importance, regarding to its mechanical properties. The solidification time of the casting is dependent upon the various parameters like speed of rotation of the mold, mould wall temperature, heat transfer coefficient at the metal-mold interface, mould wall thickness, material of the mould and so on. In this paper experimental study of effect of mould wall thickness on solidification of the centrifugal casting has been discussed. As the mould wall thickness increases, due to the chilling effect, the solidification time decreases. Fine grains are observed in castings produced in thick walled mould and coarse grains are observed in thin walled moulds. Brinel Hardness of the casting was measured. email: madhusudan_75@rediffmail.com Keywords: Centrifugal casting, Chilling effect, Rate of solidification, Heat transfer INTRODUCTION Centrifugal casting is a special type of casting process in which the melt fills into the mold and solidifies under a centrifugal force field. This process is used to make thin walled castings like pipes, piston rings, cylinder liners, rollers, pulleys etc. The centrifugal casting has greater reliability than static castings [1]. They are relatively free from gas and shrinkage porosity. The features involved in centrifugal casting are fluid flow, thermal properties and solidification. Casting defects are mainly due to molten metal flow or premature solidification. The solidification structures like structural uniformity and structural character of the solidified metal of centrifugal casting is of great importance, regarding to its mechanical properties. By means of the centrifugal force, the finer equiaxed grain structures are formed to obtain homogeneous and isotropic mechanical properties. [2] So it is important to understand the mechanisms of grain structure formation in centrifugal casting conditions for obtaining a desired uniform structure. The micro structure evolution under melt shearing remains one of the most important areas of investigation to develop successful process [3]. The casting parameters that influence solidification structures can include the mold rotation velocity, the mold dimension, the mold preheating temperature, the pouring temperature of the molten metal and the alloy composition etc. [4]. Several studies have explained about the effect of above mentioned process variables of centrifugal casting, but the influences of casting parameters on solidification morphology and its theoretical and quantitative description are still far from clear understanding. Besides, it is also a very important to understand the mechanism of grain structure formation in centrifugal casting in order to design optimum centrifugal casting conditions for obtaining a desired uniform structure. And also no work has reported the prediction of solidification structures in centrifugal casting [4]. The conductivity and temperature of a mould can speed or retard solidification. [5]. The micro structure evolution under melt shearing remains one of the most important areas of investigation to develop successful process [3]. Some experimental studies have been carried out to investigate possible mechanisms of formation of microstructure. The purpose of this work is to study the effect of mold wall thickness on the rate of solidification of centrifugal casting.

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Madhusudhan et. al. / International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Vol. 2(11), 2010, 6092-6096 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The Figure 1 shows the experimental setup, which consists of a mild steel cylindrical die fixed to a driving flange. This driving flange is connected to the shaft of a DC motor, where the speed can be varied from 20rpm to 2000rpm with high accurate speed controller. The flow of metal into the mould is confined in the horizontally oriented, axially rotating cylindrical die. Initially three types of gravity castings are made with different cooling rates. Slow cooling is achieved by allowing the molten metal to solidify in the furnace itself, medium rate of cooling is achieved by keeping the die in sand [anotec.com] and fast cooling is achieved by pouring metal to thick walled mould. And for the castings produced the microstructures have been analyzed. In centrifugal casting experiment three sets of dies are used with different wall thickness of 12mm, 21mm and 29 mm which will enable different cooling rates. Microstructures of the castings have been analyzed and compared with the microstructures of gravity castings produced at different cooling rates. Grain size has been measured by using the image analyzer and BHN has been measured using Brinel hardness Tester.

Figure 1. Experimental Set up

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION a. Gravity Casting Figure 2 shows the micro structures of gravity casting. Three castings show different microstructures. Figures 2 a, b, c shows microstructures of the castings which are cooled at different cooling rates. Fine grain structures are obtained in rapid cooled casting, this rapid cooling is due to chilling of the casting with thick metal mould. Bigger grain sizes are seen in slow cooled (furnace cooled) casting. During slow solidification process, the well oriented dendrite structure grows from the chill zone and continues towards the inner surface and columnar grains seen at the outer surface. Smaller grain sizes are obtained in casting, which was cooled in sand.

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Madhusudhan et. al. / International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Vol. 2(11), 2010, 6092-6096

(a)

(b)

(c)

Figure 2. Shows microstructures of gravity castings: (a) slow cooled (b) medium cooling rate (c) fast cooled b. Centrifugal Casting

Figure 3. Centrifugal Castings of Tin (size 80, 120mm long, 4mm wall thickness)

Figure 3 shows the actual centrifugal castings of Tin produced at rotational speed of 400 rpm. The melt during rotation initially covers the entire circumference of the mould and solidifies forming a thin strip of metal. This is due to the rapid cooling of the molten metal coming in contact with the chill mould [6]. The subsequent layer of the molten metal then comes in contact with the metal which was already solidified and the driving force of the melt increases gradually. Simultaneously, the viscosity of the molten metal increases. Probably due to this reason, with the increase in thickness of the casting tube, the rotational speed required for the formation of uniform cylinder takes place at same range of rotational speeds.

Figure 4. Microstructures of the castings produced using mould of 11 mm wall thickness and 800 rpm

Figure 5. Microstructures of the castings produced using mould of 21 mm wall thickness and 800 rpm

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Madhusudhan et. al. / International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Vol. 2(11), 2010, 6092-6096

Figure 6. Microstructures of the castings produced using mould of 29 mm wall thickness and 800 rpm

Figure 4-6 shows the microstructures of the castings produced in three different dies of wall thickness 11mm, 21mm and 29 mm which represents different thermal masses and causes different cooling rates. Solidification of the centrifugal castings are takes place faster than the normal gravity casting due to forced convection heat transfer at inside between metal and air as well as out side of the mould between mould wall and outside air. And also during rotation the flow will be turbulent. The metal layer very close to the mould wall gets solidified faster and metal which is away from the mould wall cools slightly slower. The solidification process at the middle and inner region takes place through conduction. The micro structures with minimum mould wall thickness exhibits larger grain size due to slow cooling rates and casting obtained from thick mould wall thickness shows fine grains, this is due to rapid cooling of the casting. Rapid cooling is due to the chilling effect of the mould. The chilling effect on the casting depends on thermal mass of liquid metal and relative movement between the liquid metal and inner surface of the mould.
BHN of Castings VS Die Wall Thickness at Different Rotational Speeds
10 9.5 9 8.5 8 7.5 7 6.5 6 5 15 25 35 Die Wall Thickness(mm)

Die Speed 400 RPM Die Speed 600 RPM Die Speed 800 RPM

BHN

Figure 7. Hardness of the casting vs Die wall thickness

According to the Figure 7 hardness of the castings produced using dies with different wall thickness is increases with increased die wall thickness. This is because the hardness will increases with increasing cooling rate [7]. Figure 8 shows the variation in grain size with the die wall thickness.
Grain Size VS Die Wall Thickness
300 Grain Size(micron) 250 200 150 100 50 0 0 10 20 30 40 Die Wall Thickness(mm) 400 RPM 600 RPM 800 RPM

Figure 8. Grain size vs Die wall thickness

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Madhusudhan et. al. / International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Vol. 2(11), 2010, 6092-6096 CONCLUSION: Effect of mould wall thickness on microstructure of centrifugal casting has been studied. The centrifugal cast sample shows a fine to coarse microstructure from the outer to inner casting surface. Mould wall thickness is one of the parameter which affects the rate of solidification. As the thickness of mould increases the solidification takes place at faster rate. This is due to the chilling effect of the mould. The chilling effect on the casting depends on thermal mass of liquid metal and relative movement between the liquid metal and inner surface of the mould. Rapid solidification shows the well distributed fine grains and slow solidification rate shows coarse grain size. The experimental details can be the basis for the more advanced researchers.
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Amit M Joshi , Centrifugal casting, Dept. of Metallurgical Engg. & Material Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India. Numerical simulation of microstructure evolution of Ti-6Al-4V alloy in vertical centrifugal casting, Wu Shi Ping, Liu Dong Rong, Guo Jing Jie, Li Chang Yun et al., Materials Science and Engineering A 426 (2006) 240-249. Morphological development of solidification structures under forced fluid flow: experimental observations, A Das , Mat.sci and Tech., Vol. 19, 2003, P. 573. Numerical simulation of microstructure evolution of Al alloys in centrifugal casting, S R Chang, J M Kim and C P Hong, ISIJ International, Vol.41(2001), No. 7, pp738-747. P. Samba Siva Raju, et.al., Mathematical Modeling of Centrifugal Casting of Metal Matrix Composites, Materials Transactions, IIM, Vol. 41, No. 12(2000) pp 1626 to 1635. P G Mukunda, A Shailesh Rao, An understanding of fluid behavior in Centrifugal casting ,AFT / TFI -2007, Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of Tohoku University, December 14-15, 2007, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. Effect of cooling rate on hardness and microstructure of AISI 1020, AISI 1040 and AISI 1060 Steels., Adnan Calik, International Journal of Physical Sciences Vol. 4(9), pp 514-518, September, 2009.

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