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Metals
Special Issues
Optimizing Techniques and Understanding in Casting Processes
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Optimizing Techniques and Understanding in Casting Processes

A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701). This special issue belongs to the section "Metal Casting, Forming and Heat Treatment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2022) | Viewed by 30693

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ramón Suarez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Azterlan and Veigalan Estudio 2010, 48200 Durango (Bizkaia), Spain
Interests: Ferrous materials；Aluminum and light metallic materials；Artificial Intelligence and Advanced technolgical solution；Corrosion and protection of metallic materials
Dr. Jon Sertucha

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Azterlan, Basque Research Technological Alliance, Aliendalde Auzunea 6, 48200 Durango, Spain
Interests: ductile cast irons；graphite malformation；casting
Dr. Gorka Zarrabeitia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
IK4-AZTERLAN · Department of Engineering, R&D and Metallurgical Processes,Spain
Interests: casting; solidification

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The use of metallic tools, weapons and other gadgets is well known since ancient times due to a good combination of properties of metals like hardness and ductility. Hence experimental techniques to produce metallic alloys have been developed around the world which have led to mixtures of pure metals with other non-metallic elements to originate the so-called metallic alloys. Among them, iron alloys represent one of the most important group and the use of carbon, silicon and other alloying elements have become common in the present techniques used in Metallurgy. The existence of liquid iron is reported in China about 600 B.C. and later development of cast iron in this country promoted the evolution of casting technology developed on bronzes and other alloys to manufacture jewels, sculptures, etc.

Once metallic materials were produced, their transformation to produce pieces with required shapes and sizes became essential to gradually improve the performance of components. Forging and foundry techniques appeared the most important methods in this way though the later showed an additional challenge based on reaching high enough temperatures in the melting devices. However, foundry plants have been largely developed all around the world as cast alloys show relevant advantages like simple manufacture and excellent reproducibility. Among these improvements, casting technologies become quite important due to the increasing requirements of the manufactured cast parts, their complexity and the existing competitiveness.

The present issue has been intended to show the most recent advances and developments in casting technologies which can be apply in foundry plants to manufacture cast alloys parts. Such improved methods must be oriented to solve problems in the casting processes, make them simpler and better controlled than the usual ones and/or to develop new processes which improve the properties of the resulting alloys and reduce the costs.

Dr. Ramón Suarez
Dr. Jon Sertucha
Dr. Gorka Zarrabeitia
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Metals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Foundry process
  • cast iron
  • cast aluminium
  • melting
  • melt treatment
  • pouring
  • melt additions
  • mechanical properties
  • casting technology
  • data acquisition
  • artificial intelligence
  • finishing
  • simulation
  • filling system
  • feeding system
  • foundry cost

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

17 pages, 2979 KiB  
Article
A Smart Digital Twin to Stabilize Return Sand Temperature without Using Coolers
by Javier Nieves, Beñat Bravo and David-Ciro Sierra
Metals 2022, 12(5), 730; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12050730 - 25 Apr 2022
Viewed by 1640
Abstract
In order to ensure the optimal state of recovered molding sand inside a foundry, it is necessary to avoid temperature peaks and to ensure optimal humidity conditions prior to reusing the sand. Sand that is too hot or without optimal moisture can cause [...] Read more.
In order to ensure the optimal state of recovered molding sand inside a foundry, it is necessary to avoid temperature peaks and to ensure optimal humidity conditions prior to reusing the sand. Sand that is too hot or without optimal moisture can cause production delays due to a long mixing process, excessive consumption of raw materials, or poor agglutination. To ensure a stable and optimal sand temperature, many foundries choose to incorporate coolers into their process, however, it is a solution that is not always viable, either due to their high cost or a lack of space within the facility. Another solution is to incorporate water sprinklers into the cooling drum which contribute by reducing the temperature of the castings and the sand, but these systems do not prevent temperature peaks from occurring. Therefore, here, we present a control methodology, based on a digital architecture that, governed by an intelligent digital twin allows us to know the real situation and the current rate of production, providing suggestions for water addition. The obtained system reduces the average temperature and its variation, as well as eliminates temperature peaks, giving a more controlled manufacturing process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimizing Techniques and Understanding in Casting Processes)
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32 pages, 14382 KiB  
Article
Towards the Prediction of Tensile Properties in Automotive Cast Parts Manufactured by LPDC with the A356.2 Alloy
by Jon Ander Santamaría, Jon Sertucha, Alberto Redondo, Ibon Lizarralde, Edurne Ochoa de Zabalegui and Patxi Rodríguez
Metals 2022, 12(4), 656; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12040656 - 12 Apr 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2062
Abstract
Aluminum-silicon-magnesium alloys are commonly used in the automotive industry to produce structural components. Among usual quality controls of produced castings, microstructure characterization and determination of mechanical properties are the most critical aspects. However, important problems can be found when measuring mechanical properties in [...] Read more.
Aluminum-silicon-magnesium alloys are commonly used in the automotive industry to produce structural components. Among usual quality controls of produced castings, microstructure characterization and determination of mechanical properties are the most critical aspects. However, important problems can be found when measuring mechanical properties in those areas of castings with geometrical limitations. In this investigation, a set of A356 alloys have been prepared and then used to manufacture test castings and automotive castings in a laboratory and in industrial conditions, respectively, using Low Pressure Die Casting (LPDC) technology. Test castings were used to predict secondary dendritic arm spacing (SDAS) by using thermal parameters obtained from experimental cooling curves. The results have been then compared to the ones found in the literature and improved methods for estimating SDAS from cooling curves have been developed. In a subsequent step, these methodologies have been checked with different industrial castings by using simulated cooling curves and experimentally measured SDAS values. Finally, the calculated SDAS values together with the Mg contents present in A356 alloys and the temperature and aging time data have been used to develop new models so as to predict the tensile properties in different areas of a given casting prototype. These developed models allow casters and designers predicting tensile properties in selected areas of a given prototype casting even during design and simulation steps and considering the processing variables expected in a given foundry plant. The structures of these new models have been described and experimentally validated using different processing conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimizing Techniques and Understanding in Casting Processes)
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15 pages, 1692 KiB  
Article
Development of Data-Driven Machine Learning Models for the Prediction of Casting Surface Defects
by Shikun Chen and Tim Kaufmann
Metals 2022, 12(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12010001 - 21 Dec 2021
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 4174
Abstract
This paper presents an approach for the application of machine learning in the prediction and understanding of casting surface related defects. The manner by which production data from a steel and cast iron foundry can be used to create models for predicting casting [...] Read more.
This paper presents an approach for the application of machine learning in the prediction and understanding of casting surface related defects. The manner by which production data from a steel and cast iron foundry can be used to create models for predicting casting surface related defect is demonstrated. The data used for the model creation were collected from a medium-sized steel and cast iron foundry in which components ranging from 1 to 100 kg in weight are produced from wear and heat resistant cast iron and steel materials. This includes all production-relevant data from the melting and casting process, as well as from the mold production, the sand preparation and component quality related data from the quality management department. The data are tethered together with each other, the information regarding the identity and number of components that resulted in scrap due to the casting surface defect metal penetrations was added to the dataset. Six different machine learning algorithms were trained and an interpretation of the models outputs was accomplished with the application of the SHAP framework. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimizing Techniques and Understanding in Casting Processes)
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13 pages, 5266 KiB  
Article
The Role of Selenium on the Formation of Spheroidal Graphite in Cast Iron
by Gorka Alonso, Doru Michael Stefanescu, Edurne Aguado and Ramon Suarez
Metals 2021, 11(10), 1600; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11101600 - 09 Oct 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1845
Abstract
Sulfur, an element that belongs to group 16 (chalcogens) of the periodic table, is an excellent promoter of nucleation substrates for graphite in cast iron. In ductile iron, sulfur favors a higher nodule count, which inhibits the risk of carbides and of microporosity. [...] Read more.
Sulfur, an element that belongs to group 16 (chalcogens) of the periodic table, is an excellent promoter of nucleation substrates for graphite in cast iron. In ductile iron, sulfur favors a higher nodule count, which inhibits the risk of carbides and of microporosity. It is reasonable to expect that other elements from group 16, such as selenium or tellurium, play similar roles in the nucleation of graphite. The objective of this paper was to investigate the effect of selenium on the process of graphite formation. Thermal analysis cups were poured to evaluate the nodule count and size distribution. Some of the cups were not inoculated, while others were inoculated with a Ce-bearing inoculant, or with the Ce inoculant and additions of Se. Cross-shaped castings were also poured to quantify the microporosity regions by tomography. It appears that selenium additions modify the number and size of graphite particles, as well as the volume of microshrinkage. Direct correlations between these three parameters were found. Advanced Extensive Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscope (FEG-SEM) techniques were used to identify the nature of the main nucleation compounds. Selenides, combined with Mg and rare earths, were observed to serve as nuclei for graphite. Their presence was justified by thermodynamics calculations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimizing Techniques and Understanding in Casting Processes)
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16 pages, 7208 KiB  
Article
Ce-Bearing FeSi Alloy Inoculation of Electrically Melted, Low Sulphur Grey Cast Irons for Thin Wall Castings
by Irina Varvara Balkan and Iulian Riposan
Metals 2021, 11(7), 1122; https://doi.org/10.3390/met11071122 - 15 Jul 2021
Viewed by 2169
Abstract
Electrically melted and over-heated (>1500 °C) grey cast iron at less than 0.04%S, as commonly used, solidifies large amounts of carbides and/or undercooled graphite, especially in thin wall castings; this is necessary to achieve a stronger inoculation. The efficiency of Ce-bearing FeSi alloy [...] Read more.
Electrically melted and over-heated (>1500 °C) grey cast iron at less than 0.04%S, as commonly used, solidifies large amounts of carbides and/or undercooled graphite, especially in thin wall castings; this is necessary to achieve a stronger inoculation. The efficiency of Ce-bearing FeSi alloy is tested for lower ladle addition rates (0.15 and 0.25 wt.%), compared to the base and conventional inoculated iron (Ba,Ca-bearing FeSi alloy). The present work explores chill and associated structures in hypoeutectic grey iron (3.6–3.8%CE, 0.02%S, (%Mn) × (%S) = 0.013–0.016, Alres < 0.002%), in wedge castings W1, W2 and W3 (ASTM A 367, furan resin sand mould), at a lower cooling modulus (1.1–3.5 mm) that is typically used to control the quality of thin wall iron castings. Relatively clear and total chill well correlated with the standard thermal (cooling curve) analysis parameters and structural characteristics in wedge castings, at different wall thickness, displayed as the carbides/graphite ratio and presence of undercooled graphite morphologies. The difference in effects of the two inoculants addition is seen as the ability to decrease the amount of carbides and undercooled graphite, with Ce-bearing FeSi alloy outperforming the conventional inoculant, especially as the wall thickness decreased. It appears that Ce-bearing FeSi alloy could be a solution for low sulphur, electric melt, thin wall iron castings production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimizing Techniques and Understanding in Casting Processes)
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Review

Jump to: Research

80 pages, 209653 KiB  
Review
Casting Defects in Sand-Mold Cast Irons—An Illustrated Review with Emphasis on Spheroidal Graphite Cast Irons
by Jon Sertucha and Jacques Lacaze
Metals 2022, 12(3), 504; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12030504 - 16 Mar 2022
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 17485
Abstract
Cast irons are known to be easy to shape by sand casting due to their high eutectic fraction. Despite this fact, together with cost benefits, obtaining good quality castings is not an easy task, although it depends on the level of defects allowed [...] Read more.
Cast irons are known to be easy to shape by sand casting due to their high eutectic fraction. Despite this fact, together with cost benefits, obtaining good quality castings is not an easy task, although it depends on the level of defects allowed in each case. Casting defects are here reviewed and classified into three classes according to their known main origin: (1) related to the sand mixtures used to make the molds; (2) associated with the mold design and the geometry of the castings; (3) related to the casting alloy itself. The present work is an illustrated description of these defects, with details of their origin when well established, and of known remedies. In addition, an attempt has been made to clarify the possible cross-effects of the above three origins. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimizing Techniques and Understanding in Casting Processes)
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