CASTING DEFECTS
Casting Defects
• A casting defect is an undesired irregularity in a metal casting process.
Some defects can be tolerated while others can be repaired, otherwise they
must be eliminated.
• The defects can be classified as follows:
– Gas defects
– Shrinkage cavities
– Moulding-material defects
– Pouring-metal defects
– Metallurgical defects
GAS DEFECTS
Gas defects
• The defects under this category can be classified into:
– Blowholes and Open Blows.
– Air inclusion
– Pin-hole porosity
Gas defects
• Gas defects is the formation of bubbles within the casting after it has
cooled. This occurs because most liquid materials can hold a large amount
of dissolved gas, but the solid form of the same material cannot, so the gas
forms bubbles within the material as it cools.
• Lower gas-passing tendency of the mould
– Lack of venting
– Improper design of the casting
– Lower permeability of the mould
• Finer grain size of the sand
• Higher clay content in the sand mixture
• Higher moisture content
• Excessive ramming of the moulds
Blowholes and Open Blows
• These are spherical, flattened or elongated cavities present inside the casting or
on the surface. On the surface they are called open blows and inside, they are
called blowholes.
• Subsurface blowhole only can be seen after machining. Gases entrapped by
solidifying metal on the surface of the casting which results in a rounded or
oval blowhole as a cavity.
• The defects are nearly located in the cope part of the mould in the poorly
vented pockets.
Fig: Blowholes Fig: Open Blows
Blowholes and Open Blows
Possible causes:
• These are caused by the moisture left in the mould and core.
• Because of the heat in the molten metal, the moisture is converted into
steam, part of which entrapped in the casting ends up as a blow hole or
ends up as an open blow when it reaches the surface.
• Lower permeability of the mould:
• Finer grain size of the sand.
• Higher clay content in the sand mixture.
• Higher moisture content.
• over ramming of the moulds.
• Lack of venting.
Remedies:
• Improve core venting, provide venting channels.
• Reduce amounts of gas. Use slow-reacting binder. Reduce quantity of
binder.
• Reduce moisture content of sand.
Air Inclusions
• The atmospheric and other gases absorbed by the molten metal in the
furnace, in the ladle, and during the flow in the mould, when not allowed to
escape, would be trapped inside the casting and weaken it.
Possible causes:
• Higher pouring temperature which increases the amount of gases
absorption.
• Poor gating system design such as straight sprues in unpressurised gating;
abrupt bends and other turbulence increasing air aspiration in the mould.
• Low permeability.
Remedies:
• Choose appropriate pouring temperature.
• Improve gating system design to reduce turbulence.
Pinhole Porosity
• Caused by hydrogen in the molten metal.
– Picked up in the furnace or by the dissociation of water inside the
mould cavity.
– At lower temperature solubility of gases decreases and there by
expelling the dissolve gases.
– While the hydrogen gas is leaving the solidifying metal would cause
very small diameter and long pinholes showing the path of escape.
• The main reason is high pouring temperature which increases gas pick up.
• This is severe in Al alloys or steels and iron having aluminium.
SHRINKAGE CAVITIES
Shrinkage cavities
Possible causes:
• Shrinkage defect caused by improper directional solidifications, poor
gating and risering design and inadequate feeding.
• Solidification leads to volumetric contraction which must be compensated
by feeding. If this compensation is in adequate either surface shrinkage or
internal shrinkage defects are produced. Which will make the casting
weaker.
Remedies:
• Shrinkage defect can be reduced by providing proper gating system,
pouring at correct temperature and taking care of directional solidification.
Directional solidification: is the
solidification of the molten metal
from the sprue to the mould cavity
and then to the riser to produce a
casting which is free from voids and
internal cavities (shrinkage cavities).
Chills can be used to provide the
required directional solidification.
MOULDING MATERIAL DEFECTS
Moulding material defects
• Under this category are those defects are cause of the characteristics of the
moulding sand.
• The defects are:
– Cuts and Washes
– Metal Penetration
– Fusion
– Run-out
– Rat Tails and Buckles
– Swell
– Drop
Cuts and washes
• These appear as rough spots and areas of excess metal, and are caused by
the erosion of moulding sand by the flowing metal.
Possible causes:
• Moulding sand not having sufficient strength.
• Molten metal flowing at high velocity.
Remedies:
• Earlier it was remedied by the proper choice of moulding sand and
appropriate moulding method.
• Latter by alternating the gating design to reduce the turbulence in the metal,
by increasing the size of gates or by using multiple no of gates.
• Also can be avoided by proper ramming.
Metal penetration
• When the molten metal enters the gaps between the sand grains, the result
would be rough casting surface.
Possible causes:
• The grain size of the sand is too coarse.
• No mould wash has been applied to the mould cavity.
• Higher pouring temperature.
• When fluidity of liquid metal is high, it may penetrate into sand mold or core,
causing casting surface to consist of a mixture of sand grains and metal.
Remedies:
• Use proper mould wash.
• Choose appropriate grain size of the sand.
Mould wash: purely carbonaceous materials (sea coal,
finely powdered graphite) are applied onto the mould
cavity after the pattern is withdrawn. The reasons behind
the use of mould wash is to prevent metal penetration
into the sand grains and good casting finish. This is also
used to avoid mould-metal interaction and prevent sand
fusion.
Fusion
• This is caused by fusion of sand grains with the molten metal, giving a
brittle, glassy appearance on the casting surface.
Possible causes:
• Mould sand and clay has not enough refractoriness.
• Pouring temperature is very high.
Remedies:
• Using sand and clay of enough refractoriness.
• Suitable pouring temperature.
Run-out
• A run out is caused when the molten metal leaks out of the mould.
• This may be caused either due to faulty mould making or because of the
faulty molding flask.
• Run-out can be avoided by modifying the moulding system, providing
proper parting line and providing proper gating system.
Rat tails and Buckles
• Rat tail is caused by the compression failure of the skin of the mould cavity
because of the excessive heat in the molten metal.
– Due to the heat, the sand expands, thereby moving the mould wall backwards and in the
process when the wall gives away, the casting surface may have marked as small line.
• Buckles are the rat tails which are severe.
Possible causes:
• Moulding sand has got poor expansion properties.
• Poor hot strength.
• High pouring temperature.
• The facing sand applied does not have enough carbonaceous materials
provide the necessary cushioning effect.
Remedies:
• Proper choice of facing sand ingredients and pouring temperature are the
measure to reduce the incidence of these defects.
Swell
• Under influence of the metallostatic forces, the mould wall (vertical) may
move back causing a swell in the dimensions of the casting. The feeding
requirements of the casting increases.
• The main cause of this is faulty mould making procedure adopted.
– Low strength of mould.
– Mould with too high water content.
– Insufficient ramming
• A proper ramming of the mould should correct this defect.
POURING METAL DEFECTS
Misruns and cold shuts
• Misrun is caused when the metal is unable to fill the mould cavity completely, thus
leaving unfilled cavities.
• A cold shut is caused when two metal stream while meeting in mould cavity, do not
fuse together properly, this causing a discontinuity or weak spot in casting.
– Sometimes a conditions leading to cold shuts can be observed when no sharp
corners are present in a casting.
Possible causes:
• Lower fluidity of molten metal.
• Section thickness is too small.
• lack of fusion due to premature (early) freezing.
• Pouring temperature is too low.
• Pouring is done too slowly.
• Faulty mould design.
• Heat removal capacity is increased.
• Not properly vented because of the back pressure of the gases.
Fluidity: ability of casting material’s to fill the mould cavity. Fluidity depends on the casting
material as well as mould. Casting material’s property effect the fluidity to a great extent are
viscosity of the melt, heat content of the melt, surface tension, freezing range and specific
weight of the liquid metal. Mould properties which effect the fluidity are the thermal
characteristics, permeability and the mould cavity surface.
Misruns and cold shuts
• Remedies:
• Improving the mould design.
• Increase the fluidity of the metal.
• Raising the pouring temperature.
Slag inclusion
• Slag inclusion and sand inclusion are also called as scab or blacking scab.
They are inclusion defects. Looks like there are slag inside of metal castings.
• During the melting Process, flux is added to remove the undesirable oxides
and impurities present in the metal.
– At the time of tapping, the slag should be properly removed from the ladle,
before the metal is poured into the mould.
– Otherwise, any slag entering the mould cavity will be weakening the
casting and also spoil the surface of the casting.
Possible Causes:
• Uneven compaction of moulds.
• Low compactability.
• Bentonite content too low, or poorly developed bentonite.
• Low core strength.
• Pouring rate too high, with heavy impact against mould wall surface resulting
in erosion.
• Ladle too far above pouring basin.
Slag inclusion
Remedies:
• Use slag-trapping method such as pouring basin screens or runner extensions.
• Raise compactability.
• Increase bentonite content.
• Increase the strength of the cores.
• Avoid high pouring rates and impact of metal stream against mould walls.
• Improve distribution of gates.
METALLURGICAL DEFECTS
Hot tears
Since the metal has low strength at higher temperatures, any unwanted
cooling stress may cause the rupture of the casting.
Possible causes:
• Hot tears occur on poorly designed castings having abrupt section changes.
• Having no proper fillets or corner radii.
• Wrongly placed chills.
• Incorrect pouring temperature.
• Improper positioning of gates and risers.
• Poor collapsibility of cores. If the core does not collapse when the casting
is contracting over it stresses will be set up in the casting leading to its
failure.
Remedies:
• Improve casting design.
• Improve collapsibility core and mould.
Hot tears
Hot spots
• Hot spots are areas on the surface of casting that become very hard because
they cooled more quickly than the surrounding material.
• Hot spots are caused by chilling action of moulding sands in some metals
like grey cast iron with insufficient silicon.
• These spot are extremely hard and often lead to machining difficulties.
Remedies:
• Hot spots are avoided by providing uniform cooling and pouring at the
right temperature.
• by changing the chemical composition of the metal.