Exp 2

Melting and casting of aluminium: Effect of

mold preheat

By: Jitesh Chhaparwal (06011013) , Nikhil Goyal (06011014) , Vijay Meena (06011015) and Dr. Suraj
Toppo
 Experiment 3
Melting and casting of aluminium: Effect of mold preheat

Aim:
• To understand solidification phenomenon in castings
• To cast aluminium metal in permanent molds and study the cast grain structure and
shrinkage under different conditions of mold preheat

Equipments and Materials:

• Resistance furnace
• Chromel Alumel Thermocouple
• Molds
• Aluminium metal/alloy to be cast
• Thermocouple and Data Acquisition System

Theory:
Solidification, as a forming operation, allows us to shape metal with minimum effort as
the liquid metal offers very little resistance to shear stresses.
When molten metal enters a mould cavity, its heat is absorbed by and is transferred
through the mould wall. In the case of pure metals and eutectics, the solidification proceeds
in the direction opposite to the direction of heat transfer, starting from the mould wall and
proceeding inwards. The moving isothermal interface between the liquid and solid region is
called the solidification front. As the metal solidifies, it contracts in volume, and draws
molten metal from the adjacent (inner) liquid layer. When the solidification front reaches the
innermost region or the hot spot, there is no more liquid metal left and a void called shrinkage
cavity, is formed.

Formation of grain structure in freezed ingot:

When the ingot is frozen, three zones of solidification behaviours can be distinguished as
shown in fig 1 and the three separate phases of the freezing process may occur, with each
phase developing a characteristic arrangement of grain sizes and shapes. The basic structures
are illustrated in fig. 2.

Fig. 1 Three zones of solidification behaviours

Fig. 2 The three separate phases of the freezing process

 1. Chill Zone
In a narrow band following the contour of the mold lies the chill zone, consisting of small
equiaxed grains which usually have random orientations.
Mold walls, which are at a much lower temperature (usually room temperature) than the
liquid, rapidly cool the layer of liquid with which they are in contact. As a result, the
temperature of the liquid metal for a short distance away from the mold wall drops
below the equilibrium freezing temperature. Because of the rapidity with which
the liquid temperature falls, a considerable magnitude of the super cooling usually results.
This causes high nucleation rate and hence the average size of the grain is usually small.
Because the crystals form independently, their orientation is random. Due to hinder in growth
by neighbouring crystals nucleated at approximately identical times, their sizes are nearly
uniform and the structure is said to be equiaxed.

2. Columnar Zone
Inside of this outer zone, the grains become larger in size, elongated in shape and with
their lengths parallel to the heat flow direction (normal to mold wall). These grains have a
very strong preferred orientation with a direction of dendritic growth parallel to their long
axis. Because of the shape of the crystals in the zone, it is customary to call it the columnar
zone.
The columnar zone forms in a different manner. Here crystal growth predominates and
very little nucleation is observed. As soon as nucleation starts in the chill zone, the
temperature in this region begins to rise again toward the equilibrium freezing
temperature which eliminates the supercooling. This is the natural result of the release of the
latent heat of fusion. The columnar zone is thus composed of crystals that start at the chill
zone and grow side by side in one direction, the heat flow direction. In a pure metal, these
crystals may continue to grow in this manner to the center of the ingot. Their growth stops
when they meet the grains growing out from the opposite wall. The central equiaxed zone
shown in fig.2 is not found in pure metal ingots.

3. Central Zone
The last zone lies at the centre of the ingot and represents the last metal to freeze. In this
region the grains are again equiaxed and of random orientation, but aremuch larger than the
grains in the chill zone. It is mainly as result of the growth of detached dendrite arm within
the remaining slightly under cooled liquid as shown in fig 1.

Aluminium melting and casting:

Preferred practices for effective castings are-
1. Start with clean materials of known analysis.
2. Use clean melting practice.
3. Keep temperature of melt low until pouring is imminent.
4. Use a minimum holding time in the molten condition.
5. Avoid water vapour or hydrogen bearing gases whenever possible.
6. Do not agitate or stir melt more than is absolutely necessary.
7. Use adequate flushing or fluxing practices to :
8. Provide more effective separation of molten metal and dross.
9. Remove dissolved hydrogen and entrapped dross.
10. Skim only when ready to pour.
11. Avoid turbulence when pouring the molten aluminium to minimize drossing and
hydrogen pickup.
12. Use proper temperature and pouring practices.

Experimental Procedure:
1. 2kg of pure aluminium with temperature of melt 30mv measured with
the chromelalumel thermocouple
2. Take Cast iron metallic molds with diameter say 45mm.
3. Two molds one at room temperature and other at preheated at
suitabletemperature.
4. Start capturing the thermocouple output throug the Data Acquisition System
5. Pour the hot metal in both the metallic molds and allow it to solidify.
6. Remove the cast metal from the molds and measure the volume of the shrinkage
pipe using tap water.
7. Cut the specimen from the cast metal using the power hawk saw,
polish usingemery paper and etch with suitable agent and examine the microstruct
ure in both cast structures.
Observations and Calculations:
Weight of the aluminium taken = kgs.
Temperature of the aluminium melt before pouring =
Temperature of the mold1 =
Temperature of the mold2 =
Volume of the shrinkage pipe in cold mold cast metal = ml
Volume of the shrinkage pipe in hot mold cast metal = ml
Microstructural examination of the specimens