Thin Solid Films 620 (2016) 7075

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Thin Solid Films

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tsf

Development of a high-temperature mold process for sand casting with a

thin wall and complex shape
Eun-Hee Kim a, Guen-Ho Cho a, Yoon-Suk Oh b, Yeon-Gil Junga a,
a
School of Advanced Materials Engineering, Changwon National University, Changwon, Gyeongnam 641-773, Republic of Korea
b
Engineering Ceramic Center, Korea Institute of Ceramic EEG.&TECH., Digital-ro 10-Gil, Guemcheon-Gu, Seoul 153-801, Republic of Korea

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A new process has been developed for preparing a mold that can be sustained at a heat treatment of 1000 C,
Received 1 April 2016 resulting in fabricating cast product having a thin-wall and complex shape. In the new mold process, an inorganic
Received in revised form 12 July 2016 binder composed of tetraethyl orthosilicate and sodium methoxide, and bead powder with a high heat resistance
Accepted 3 August 2016
and a low thermal expansion to molten metal were used. The mold sample prepared through the resin-coated sand
Available online 20 September 2016
process using the bead powder showed higher green strength than those through the CO2 process using the
Keywords:
chamotte sand, while the ring strengths were improved and showed similar values by applying the new mold process
Inorganic precursor using the inorganic binder. In particular, the glassication behavior of the inorganic binder and its phase were not
Sol-gel changed even in the mold sample prepared with the recycled bead powder. The thermal expansion of the mold sam-
Bead powder ple was linear and about 0.23% up to 1000 C, indicating that the mold has a superior thermal stability. The actual
Sand casting product, an impeller, was well cast in the mold prepared by the new mold process, indicating that the new mold pro-
Mold strength cess is efcient method in improving mold strength.
2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Conventionally, a sand mold has been used in the foundry industry
required high productivity because it is a simple fabrication process that
just stuffs the mixed compound of sand and organic binder called resin
into a wooden mold [14]. Therefore, the conventional sand mold should
be inevitably thicker to prevent the collapse of the mold because the organic
binder is completely burnt out during a casting process. In addition, it has a
number of disadvantages, such as the generation of blowholes by the
burning of the organic binder and the low mobility of molten metal in
the cold casting, generating the surface defects and the unexpected micro-
structure, respectively. Also, the undesirable thermal conductivity by the
thick sand mold causes the formation of unfavorable crystalline in product.
Therefore, the sand mold prepared by the conventional method can be only
employed to produce thick-wall products.
Therefore, the thin-wall casting of a complex shape with a thickness
of 5 mm or less has been generally performed using the precision-
casting technique, investment casting. However, this method has
many drawbacks in the increment of production cost, the complex
and long process, and the limitation of product size. Sasaki upgraded
the sand mold process using an inorganic binder to overcome these dis-
advantages [5]. The inorganic binder is composed of silicate and sodium
hydroxide (NaOH) as silica (SiO2) and sodium oxide (Na2O) precursors,
respectively [68]. In the mold prepared with the inorganic binder, the
mechanical properties of the mold are produced by the cohesive
strength at each interface between starting particles [911]. In particular,
the fracture strength arises from the glass phase synthesized between
silicate and sodium alkoxide during the solgel reaction and heat
treatment.
The reaction mechanisms of two precursors above mentioned are as fol-
lows [1214];
Sol-gel reaction:
NaOR H 2 O ROH NaOH 1
 
RO3 S OSiOR2 nOR n 2H 2 O n 1SiO2 2n 2ROH 2
where ROH, NaOH, and (RO)3Si[OSi(OR)2]nOR denote alcohol, sodium
hydroxide, and alkyl silicate, respectively. NaOR is hydrolyzed to form
NaOH (by Eq. (1)), and (RO)3Si[OSi(OR)2]nOR is hydrolyzed to form
SiO2 and ROH (by Eq. (2)).
Heat-treatment reaction:
2NaOH SiO2 Na2 O  SiO2 H2 O 3

The sodium silicate (Na2OSiO2) of glass phase is produced by the reac-

Corresponding author. tion between NaOH and SiO2 at a temperature of about 1000 C, which can
E-mail address: jungyg@changwon.ac.kr (Y.-G. Junga). give a strength to the mold. During the above reactions, the organic

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2016.08.069
0040-6090/ 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 E.-H. Kim et al. / Thin Solid Films 620 (2016) 7075
Table 1
Basic formulations and experimental ranges to prepare sand mold samples in this work.
Component Inorganic Starting Condition
precursor (g) particle (g)
Content TEOS NaOMe Bead powder Dry process
(38) (56) (100) (80 C, 24 h)
Heat treatment
(1000 C, 1 h)
binder coated on the particle surface is substituted by the glass phase
synthesized from the inorganic precursor, which is called an organic-
inorganic conversion process. Therefore, the inorganic precursor should
be homogeneously coated on the surfaces of particles and the conversion ef-
ciency of inorganic precursor to glass phase should be optimized to pro-
vide a sufcient strength to the mold, resulting in maintaining the mold
shape during the casting.
In this study, the mold process was developed for preparing a mold that
sustained a shape at a temperature of 1000 C, and then a real product, a
250 mm impeller, was cast with the actual mold. The relationship be-
tween fracture strength and preparation process is discussed.
2. Experimental procedure
2.1. Preparation of mold samples
The inorganic binder precursor used for preparing a mold sample in
the thin-wall casting was composed of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS;
Sigma-Aldrich Korea, Yongin, Korea) as a SiO2 precursor and sodium
methoxide (NaOMe; Sigma-Aldrich Korea) as a Na2O precursor. The
bead powder (nominal particle size 0.15 mm, Itochu Ceratech Corpora-
tion, Seto, Japan) was used as a starting material for preparing the mold
sample. The chamotte sand (nominal particle size 0.15 mm, Namgan
Casting Materials, Pusan, Korea) was used as a starting material to prepare
the comparison sample. Basic formulations and experimental ranges for
preparing molds through the organic-inorganic conversion process are
shown in Table 1. The size of the mold sample used as a starting
substrate was 10 mm 10 mm 50 mm, which was determined and
prepared by a commercial casting company (Jinsung Metal, Gimhae,
(2)
(1)
Starting powder Organic binder
(1) Starting powder coated with organic binder
(2) Dipping of sand mold in the inorganic precursor
(3) Starting powder with inorganic precursor coated on the organic binder
(4) Dry and heat treatment processes
(5) Starting powder coated with only inorganic binder
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the organic-inorganic conversion process.
71
Table 2
Composition of base metal with high content of Cr for the actual casting product.
Element C Si Mn P S Ni Cr Mo Cu V Al
(%) 2.82 0.62 0.79 0.01 0.014 0.15 26.5 0.01 0.05 0.02 0.03
BS EN 12513 [EN-GJN-HB555 (XCr23)].
Korea). The bead powder coated with the organic binder through a resin-
coated sand (RCS) process was stuffed into a forming mold made of
metal, and then heat-treated at 200 C for 1 h. The chamotte sand mixed
with water glass (sodium silicate, Na2OSiO2, 53% hydrated H2O; Sigma-
Aldrich Korea, Yongin, Korea) was stuffed into the forming mold, and
then hardened for 10 s under a CO2 atmosphere.
The mold samples prepared with the bead powder and the chamotte
sand were dipped into the inorganic binder precursor at room temper-
ature. The dipped samples were dried at 80 C for a period of 1 h for elim-
inating H2O and ROH synthesized during the sol-gel reactions, and then
heat treated at 1000 C with a dwell time of 1 h in the atmosphere for
the glassication of the inorganic precursors of Na2O and SiO2. Cooling
process to room temperature followed after each process. A detailed expla-
nation of the organic-inorganic conversion process is shown in Fig. 1.
2.2. Preparation of actual mold and casting
In this work, an impeller with 250 mm diameter, which is presently
used in fuel gas desulfurization system of power plants, was
manufactured as an actual cast product. Therefore, iron with high chro-
mium content to increase the corrosion resistance and antiabrasion was
used as a base metal for the actual casting. The composition of the base
metal is presented in Table 2. First, the wooden forming mold for prepar-
ing an actual mold was designed and made through reverse engineering
(Sungil Turbine Co., Busan, Korea). The bead powder coated with the or-
ganic precursor through the RCS process was stuffed into the wooden
forming mold, and the green mold was heat-treated at 200 C for 10 h.
The prepared actual mold was dipped in the inorganic precursor solu-
tion with the same composition used in preparing the mold sample. The ac-
tual mold coated with the inorganic precursor was dried at 80 C for a
period of 24 h, and then heat-treated at 1000 C for 1 h. Cooling process
to room temperature followed after each process. The molten metal melted
(4)
(3) (5)
Inorganic binder
72 E.-H. Kim et al. / Thin Solid Films 620 (2016) 7075

Table 3
Comparison of properties in various starting powders used in fabricating sand mold [15].

Properties Cerabeads Zircon Chromite Silica

Refractoriness SK37 SK37 SK39 SK33

1825 C 1825 C 1880 C 1730 C
Bulk density (g/cm3) 1.69 2.95 2.81 1.58
pH 7.2 5.7 7.9 6.6
Thermal conductivity (W/mK) 0.223 0.305 0.258 0.255
Thermal expansion (%) -0.03 0.18 0.26 1.50
Heat transfer (W/mK) 0.56 0.80 0.58 0.71
Chemical composition (%) Al2O3 (61) ZrO2 (66) Cr2O3 (45) SiO2 (99)
SiO2 (37) SiO2 (33) Fe2O3 (25)
Al2O3 (61)
MgO (10)
Major mineral composition Mullite Zircon Chromite Quartz

at 1600 C in an induction heating furnace was poured into the actual

mold at room temperature in the atmosphere, and cooled to room tem-
perature. Finally, mechanical machining for the cast product was conduct-
ed as a post-processing.

Fig. 3. XRD analysis results for bead particles: (a) virgin and (b) recycled.
2.3. Characterization

The morphology and size of starting powders and the fracture element analysis on the particle surfaces in the mold samples after heat
surfaces of prepared mold samples were observed using a scanning treatment was conducted using an energy-dispersive spectrometer
electron microscope (SEM; Model JSM-5610; JEOL, Tokyo, Japan). The (Oxford Instruments, Oxford, UK). The phase of the virgin and recycled

Fig. 2. Microstructure of bead particles: (a) virgin and (b) recycled. Each number indicates the microstructures of particles before dipping into the precursor solution, the low and high
magnication at interface of particles, respectively. Dotted arrows indicate the glass phase synthesized at the interface between particles. Element analysis results are inserted in each gure.
 E.-H. Kim et al. / Thin Solid Films 620 (2016) 7075
Fig. 4. Fracture strength of mold samples prepared with the CO2 and RCS processes using
the chamotte sand and bead powder, respectively.
bead powders was analyzed using an X-ray diffractometer (XRD; X-pert
MPD, Model PW3040; Philips Eindhoven, Netherlands). The toxic gas
tests for the prepared mold samples were performed using a TruSpec El-
emental Analyzer (LECO Co., St. Joseph, MI, USA) and SC-432DR Sulfur
Analyzer (LECO Co.). The fracture strengths of the mold samples before
and after heat treatment were measured using a universal testing ma-
chine (Instron 5566; Instron Corp., Norwood, MA, USA) in the 4-point
bending mode at a rate of 0.5 mm min1. Tests were carried out at
room temperature, and ve runs were performed to determine the
standard deviation of the fracture strength. The thermal expansion of
the mold samples was measured with a heating rate of 5 C min1 up
to 1000 C, using a dilatometer (Model 500S; Mac Science, Tokyo,
Japan).
3. Results and discussion
Conventionally, the mold employed in the sand casting has been pre-
pared with natural sand, an articial sand, a chamotte, a chromite, etc. In
this study, the bead powder with a mullite phase was used as the starting
material instead of conventional sand powders because the bead powder
Fig. 5. Thermal expansion of mold sample prepared with bead powder.
73
Table 4
Toxic gases generated in combustion tests for molds.
Samples Carbon Hydrogen Nitrogen Sulfur
(C) (H) (N) (S)
Conventional sand mold 1.93 0.06 0.13 N.D.
Mold prepared with inorganic binder 0.03 0.052 0.12 N.D.
N.D.: Not Detected below 0.0001%.
Sample condition: Dried sample.
has an excellent thermal resistance and a low thermal expansion to molten
metal at high temperature, as indicated in Table 3 [15]. However, the heat
resistance of traditional sand powders, such as SiO2, chamotte, and zircon,
continuously decreases with increasing temperature. In addition, the burnt
layer by metal penetration begins to be generated at the interface of the
mold and the molten metal in traditional sand molds, and then the molten
metal rapidly spreads farther and farther out into the interior of the
mold. Eventually, it becomes a full mold made of the burnt layer, and
the sand mold is easy to collapse during the casting. It was reported that
the thickness of the burnt layer can be reduced by employing the bead pow-
der even in traditional sand mold, due to the high heat resistance [15]. In
this work, the organic binder (resin) used in the new process was substitut-
ed with the inorganic binder (glass phase) during heat treatment, improv-
ing surface properties. Therefore, the burnt layer was not formed in the
mold prepared by the new process.
The particle morphology, interface microstructure, and detected ele-
ment at the interface in the mold samples prepared with the virgin and
recycled bead powders are shown in Fig. 2. Recycled bead powder is
the powder of the mold used in sand casting. Each number in
Fig. 2(a) and (b) indicates the microstructures of particles before dip-
ping in the inorganic precursor, and the low and high magnication at
the interface between particles after heat treatment, respectively. The
recycled powder showed nearly the same spherical shape and size as
the virgin powder, as seen in Fig. 2(b-1). The glass phase, which is indi-
cated with dotted arrows in Fig. 2, made from the inorganic precursor
was generated at the interface between individual particles in the
mold prepared with recycled powder as well as virgin powder
(Fig. 2(a-2) and (b-2)). In addition, the elements of Al, Si, and Na from
the starting powder and inorganic precursor were detected together
on both particle surfaces.
74 E.-H. Kim et al. / Thin Solid Films 620 (2016) 7075
Fig. 6. Actual mold and products: (a) wooden mold, (b) cast impeller after casting, and (c) cast impeller after post-processing.
XRD peaks of the virgin and recycled bead powders are shown in
Fig. 3. Only the peaks of the mullite phase were detected. This result
means that the mullite is not affected in the extreme circumstances
(basic solution of inorganic precursor and heat treatment at 1000 C).
Namely, it demonstrates that the bead powder is stable and reusable
to prepare the sand mold, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Therefore, the
bead powder is determined as the optimum starting material with
price competitiveness in spite of bead powder having a higher price
than conventional disposable sand powders.
The fracture strength values of the mold samples prepared through
two types of processes (CO2 and RCS processes) and starting powders
(chamotte and bead) are presented in Fig. 4, which were measured for
the mold samples before and after heat treatment. The mold samples
prepared by the CO2 process showed a green strength of 5.6
0.5 MPa (mean standard deviation) and a ring strength of 8.3
0.3 MPa. The CO2 process using the chamotte sand, which is conventional-
ly applied to manufacture large impellers, was prepared by the same
company for comparison purposes. In the samples prepared through
the RCS process, the strengths were determined to be 7.3 2.5 and
8.7 1.4 MPa for the green and ring strengths, respectively.
In the CO2 process, the green strength of the mold sample is from the
water glass. The water glass can be well and homogeneously mixed with
the chamotte sand due to the liquid phase. However, in the RCS process,
the green body is formed by polymerization reaction between various resins
(phenol and isocyante, and so on). Therefore, 100% polymerization and the
uniform degree of polymerization are very difcult issues in the RCS pro-
cess. Consequentially, the standard deviation in the strength of the mold
sample prepared through the RCS process is larger than that with the CO2
process. However, the water glass used in the CO2 process generates the
glass phase as well as H2O and Na2CO3 during the mold preparation, and
the by-products (H2O and Na2CO3) can induce defects in the mold, which
caused the relatively low green strength in the mold prepared by the CO2
process. Meanwhile, the bead powder can be well rearranged during the
forming process due to the network and entanglement of the polymer
with long chains, resulting in the relatively high green strength. However,
the inorganic precursors applied in the new mold process are converted
into the glass phase during the solgel reaction and heat treatment, induc-
ing the ring strengths in the molds prepared through both processes
[1618]. To do that, the inorganic precursors of a liquid status were used
to do homogeneous coating of the inorganic precursors on the surfaces of
particles. Therefore, the new mold process is efcient method in improving
mold strength in both processes.
In addition, the shape retention of the mold during the casting is also
a major factor together with the strength. The thermal expansion, related
to the dimensional stability of the mold, was measured at a low value of
about 0.23% up to a temperature of 1000 C, as shown in Fig. 5. The con-
centration of toxic gases in combustion tests for the mold prepared with
the inorganic binder, which can be generated during the casting, is sig-
nicantly lower than that for the conventional sand mold, as shown in
the toxic gas analysis of Table 4. Therefore, it shows that use of the inor-
ganic precursor and bead powder is a good choice for fabricating the
mold for sand casting.
Photographs of the wooden mold for preparing the actual casting
mold, the cast product, and the product after post-processing are presented
in Fig. 6. The sand mold for casting metals can be prepared with the forming
mold made of metal or wood. However, most of sand molds are fabricated
using the wooden forming mold. In the case of the wooden forming mold
(Fig. 6(a)), the smooth and clean surface in the green body is hard to be
prepared because it does not apply pressure. The metal forming mold can
be used to improve the surface condition in the green body by applying a
pressure, while the production coat is higher than the wooden forming
mold. The surface of the cast product (Fig. 6(b)) is not clear since the prod-
uct was just cast using the mold prepared with the wooden forming mold,
which was improved with a post-processing (Fig. 6(c)). Finally the cast
product with the thin-wall and complex shape could be successfully fabri-
cated by applying the new mold process.
4. Conclusions
An inorganic precursor and bead powder have been used to over-
come the drawbacks of conventional sand molds, such as the frequent
collapse phenomenon and severe defects during the casting. The inor-
ganic precursor was very eco-friendly as well as being useful in improv-
ing the strength of the mold. The shape and size of the recycled powder
were not changed, compared with those of the virgin powder. The mold
sample prepared through the RCS process using the bead powder showed
higher green strength than those through the CO2 process using the
chamotte sand. However, the ring strengths were improved and showed
similar values by introducing the new mold process using the inorganic
binder, indicating that the new mold process is efcient method in improv-
ing mold strength in both processes. In addition, the mold prepared through
the new mold process showed the dimensional stability of 0.25% up to a
temperature of 1000 C. The cast product, an impeller, having the thin-
wall and complex shape could be successfully fabricated by applying the
new mold process. Therefore, the new mold process using the inorganic pre-
cursor and the bead powder can be applied as the fabrication method of the
mold for the thin-wall casting of a complex shape.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by a Korea Institute of Energy Technology
Evaluation and Planning (KETEP, grant numbers 20142020103400/
2013-101010-170C) funded by the Korean Government Ministry of
Trade, Industry, and Energy and by a National Research Foundation of
Korea (NRF, grant number 2011-0030058) funded by the Korean
Government.
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