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Metals
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Advances in Metal Casting Technology
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Advances in Metal Casting Technology

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 December 2020) | Viewed by 60926

Special Issue Editors

Dr. William D. Griffiths

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Guest Editor
School of Metallurgy and Materials, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Interests: metal casting; metallurgy; heat transfer; solidification; light alloys; steel; heat treatment; lost foam casting; casting defects
Dr. Dirk Lehmhus

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
ISIS Sensorial Materials Scientific Centre, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany
Interests: porous and cellular metals; metal foams; syntactic foams; metal matrix syntactic foams; metal matrix composites; powder metallurgy; powder technology; finite element analysis; integrated computational materials engineering (ICME); smart structures; sensor integration; sensorial materials; structural health monitoring (SHM)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ekaterina Potaturina

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
HÜTTENES-ALBERTUS Chemische Werke GmbH, Wiesenstraße 23/64, 40549 Düsseldorf, Germany
Interests: metal casting; coatings; casting defects; inorganic chemistry; refactory materials
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sven Roeren

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Production and Logistics, Dingolfing, University of Applied Sciences Landshut, Am Lurzenhof 1, 84036 Landshut
Germany
Interests: metal casting processes; digital maintenance; casting follow up processes; logistics in foundries; performance measurement in production; balanced scorecards in production management
Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Matthias Busse

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Shaping and Functional Materials, Fraunhofer IFAM, Wiener Strasse 12, 28359 Bremen, Germany
Interests: metal casting; lost foam casting; compound casting; hybrid materials and structures; powder metallurgy; additive manufacturing; printed sensors and electronics; smart manufacturing; e-mobility

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As one of the oldest metal-based manufacturing techniques, casting lives on by constantly reinventing itself, optimizing the processes, materials, and properties that are achievable. In this Special Issue, we will cover the full range of metal casting and its supporting technologies, from optimized component design to the simulation of materials and processes up to the prediction of microstructures and properties, from mold and core materials to advanced approaches like sensor integration, compound and hybrid castings and secondary processes like heat treatment. We thus do not exclude any casting process, but invite contributions on the full range of process from precision casting to High Pressure Die Casting (HPDC), from sand and lost foam casting (LFC) to Low Pressure Die Casting (LPDC). We are also interested in studies which leave the purely metallurgical field, but discuss the question of how casting technology may link up with current trends in smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0 approaches.

Highlighted thematic foci will be

  • digitalization from production organization to capturing (and use) of process data, digital twin approaches, smart castings etc.
  • additive manufacturing in a metal casting context, e.g., for the production of hard tools and/or expendable patterns
  • compound, hybrid, and smart castings (e.g., function/sensor integration)
  • new materials for established processes (i.e., stainless lost foam)
  • new alloys able to meet new challenges, e.g. combinations of high conductivity/good castability for electric powertrain applications
  • modelling and simulation from macro to micro scale, from the casting process to microstructure evolution and property prediction
  • advanced structural optimization techniques applied to metal casting technology

The group of guest editors has deliberately been selected for coverage of both the academic and the industrial community to ensure high-quality scientific contributions with a clear focus on application requirements.

Dr. William D. Griffiths
Dr. Dirk Lehmhus
Dr. Ekaterina Potaturina
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sven Roeren
Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Matthias Busse
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

  • metal casting
  • smart castings
  • sensor integration
  • compound casting
  • hybrid materials
  • hybrid manufacturing process
  • casting simulation
  • ICME
  • lost foam casting
  • digitalization

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (12 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research

59 pages, 7012 KiB  
Editorial
Advances in Metal Casting Technology: A Review of State of the Art, Challenges and Trends—Part II: Technologies New and Revived
by Dirk Lehmhus
Metals 2024, 14(3), 334; https://doi.org/10.3390/met14030334 - 14 Mar 2024
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 7979
Abstract
The present text is the second part of an editorial written for a Special Issue entitled Advances in Metal Casting Technology [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Metal Casting Technology)
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28 pages, 4548 KiB  
Editorial
Advances in Metal Casting Technology: A Review of State of the Art, Challenges and Trends—Part I: Changing Markets, Changing Products
by Dirk Lehmhus
Metals 2022, 12(11), 1959; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12111959 - 16 Nov 2022
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 9543
Abstract
Metal casting is among the oldest primary shaping processes known to humanity [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Metal Casting Technology)
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Research

Jump to: Editorial

11 pages, 2184 KiB  
Article
Towards a Data Lake for High Pressure Die Casting
by Maximilian Rudack, Michael Rath, Uwe Vroomen and Andreas Bührig-Polaczek
Metals 2022, 12(2), 349; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12020349 - 17 Feb 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3679
Abstract
The High Pressure Die Casting (HPDC) process is characterized by a high degree of automation and therefore represents a data rich production technology. From concepts such as Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Production (IoP), it is well known that the utilization of [...] Read more.
The High Pressure Die Casting (HPDC) process is characterized by a high degree of automation and therefore represents a data rich production technology. From concepts such as Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Production (IoP), it is well known that the utilization of process data can facilitate improvements in product quality and productivity. In this work, we present a concept and its first steps of implementation to enable data management via a data lake for HPDC. Our goal was to design a system capable of acquiring, transmitting and storing static as well as dynamic process variables. The measurements originate from multiple data sources based on the Open Platform Communication Unified Architecture (OPC UA) within the HPDC cell and are transmitted via a streaming pipeline implemented in Node-Red and Apache Kafka. The data are consecutively stored in a data lake for HPDC that is based on a MinIO object store. In initial tests the implemented system proved it to be reliable, flexible and scalable. On standard consumer hardware, data handling of several thousand measurements per minute is possible. The use of the visual programming language Node-Red enables swift reconfiguration and deployment of the data processing pipeline. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Metal Casting Technology)
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12 pages, 5172 KiB  
Article
Selection of Dedicated As-Cast Microstructures in Zn-Al-Cu Alloys for Bearing Applications Supported by Phase-Field Simulations
by Steffen Gimmler, Markus Apel and Andreas Bührig-Polaczek
Metals 2020, 10(12), 1659; https://doi.org/10.3390/met10121659 - 10 Dec 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2400
Abstract
Solidification and phase formation of Zn-rich Zn-Al-Cu alloys with different Al and Cu contents were investigated. The investigations comprise alloy compositions with either hcp η, fcc α or hcp ε as the primary phase, as well as a composition close to the ternary [...] Read more.
Solidification and phase formation of Zn-rich Zn-Al-Cu alloys with different Al and Cu contents were investigated. The investigations comprise alloy compositions with either hcp η, fcc α or hcp ε as the primary phase, as well as a composition close to the ternary eutectic point. Test samples were produced in a mold casting process and their microstructures were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. Experimental microstructures are compared with the results from spatially resolved microstructure simulations using a phase-field model. In particular, the dependency between the aluminum and copper contents and the phase fractions of the η, α and ε phases were analyzed. In addition, hardness tests for the samples prove a direct correlation between the α- and ε-phase fractions with the macroscopic hardness of the alloys. A simple model, based on the phase fractions and the properties of the single phases, is suggested for the computation of hardness from the simulation results in order to select appropriate alloy compositions for bearing applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Metal Casting Technology)
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12 pages, 3961 KiB  
Article
A Statistical Evaluation of the Influence of Different Material and Process Parameters on the Heat Transfer Coefficient in Gravity Die Casting
by Nino Wolff, Golo Zimmermann, Uwe Vroomen and Andreas Bührig-Polaczek
Metals 2020, 10(10), 1367; https://doi.org/10.3390/met10101367 - 13 Oct 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2820
Abstract
Local heat transfer in gravity die casting is of great importance for precision in terms of distortion, mechanical properties, and the quality of the castings due to its effect on solidification. Depending on contact conditions such as liquid melt to solid mold, a [...] Read more.
Local heat transfer in gravity die casting is of great importance for precision in terms of distortion, mechanical properties, and the quality of the castings due to its effect on solidification. Depending on contact conditions such as liquid melt to solid mold, a gap between mold and component, or contact pressure between casting and mold as a result of shrinkage, there are very large differences in heat transfer. The influences of mold material, mold coating and its influence of aging, mold temperature control, and layout on the heat transfer coefficient (HTC) were investigated experimentally for different contact cases. The experiments were carried out on a rotationally symmetrical experimental setup with modular exchangeable die inserts and cores using an AlSi7Mg0.3 alloy. From the results of the individual test series, the quantitative shares of the above-mentioned influencing variables in the respective effective heat transfer coefficients were determined by means of analysis of variance. From this, the parameters having the most significant influence on the local heat balance were derived. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Metal Casting Technology)
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18 pages, 5364 KiB  
Article
Development of an Instrumented Test Tool for the Determination of Heat Transfer Coefficients for Die Casting Applications
by Yosra Kouki, Sebastian Müller, Torsten Schuchardt and Klaus Dilger
Metals 2020, 10(9), 1206; https://doi.org/10.3390/met10091206 - 8 Sep 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2759
Abstract
In the case of casting processes with permanent molds, there is still a relatively pronounced lack of knowledge regarding the locally prevailing heat transfer between casts and mold. This in turn results in an insufficient knowledge of the microstructure and the associated material [...] Read more.
In the case of casting processes with permanent molds, there is still a relatively pronounced lack of knowledge regarding the locally prevailing heat transfer between casts and mold. This in turn results in an insufficient knowledge of the microstructure and the associated material properties in the areas of the casting component close to the surface. Therefore, this work deals with the design and evaluation of a test tool with an integrated sensor system for temperature measurements, which was applied to obtain a time-dependent heat transfer coefficient (HTC) during casting solidification. For this purpose, the setup, design and computational approach are described first. Special attention is paid to the qualification of the multi-depth sensor and the calculation method. For the calculations, an inverse estimation method (nonlinear sequential function) was used to obtain the HTC profiles from the collected data. The developed sensor technology was used in a test mold to verify the usability of the sensor technology and the plausibility of the obtained calculation results under real casting conditions and associated temperature loads. Both the experimental temperature profiles and the HTC profiles showed that, in the evaluated casting series, the peak values determined were close to each other and reached values between 6000 W/(m2·K) and 8000 W/(m2·K) during solidification. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Metal Casting Technology)
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12 pages, 12636 KiB  
Article
Influence of B and Nb Additions and Heat Treatments on the Mechanical Properties of Cu-Ni-Co-Cr-Si Alloy for High Pressure Die Casting Applications
by Denis Ariel Avila-Salgado, Arturo Juárez-Hernández, Fermín Medina-Ortíz, María Lara Banda and Marco Antonio Loudovic Hernández-Rodríguez
Metals 2020, 10(5), 602; https://doi.org/10.3390/met10050602 - 6 May 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2915
Abstract
During the high pressure die casting process (HPDC), it is necessary to develop new designs and alloys for the copper plungers. In this research, two alloys Cu-9Ni-1Co-1.6Cr-2Si-1.3Fe-0.25B wt.% (A1) and Cu-9Ni-1Co-1.6Cr-2Si-0.1Fe-0.2Nb wt.% (A2) under different heat treatments (HT) were studied. Optical microscopy technique [...] Read more.
During the high pressure die casting process (HPDC), it is necessary to develop new designs and alloys for the copper plungers. In this research, two alloys Cu-9Ni-1Co-1.6Cr-2Si-1.3Fe-0.25B wt.% (A1) and Cu-9Ni-1Co-1.6Cr-2Si-0.1Fe-0.2Nb wt.% (A2) under different heat treatments (HT) were studied. Optical microscopy technique was applied to reveal the regions of dendritic morphology, also lower Secondary Dendrite Arm Spacing (SDAS); and different grain orientations. The results reveal that the solidification sequence is primary Cu dendrites and secondary intermetallics; heat treatments increase the redistribution of alloying elements in the interdendritic regions. During the heat treatments, some precipitates were found in the grain boundary after aging heat treatments for both alloys, which were determined by X-ray diffraction. Hardness test HRB presented a decrease with the solution heat treatment and an increase with the aging heat treatments proposed for both alloys. Finally, the wear resistances for both alloys were compared with a commercial alloy C17530, with decreased A1 with B additions having the best result in the as-cast condition 4.07 × 10−4 mm3/Nm, while for A2 with Nb additions wear resistance increased, with the best result in the one with aging heat treatment 1.69 × 10−4 mm3/Nm while for the C17530 alloy this was 2.74 × 10−4 mm3/Nm. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Metal Casting Technology)
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12 pages, 4183 KiB  
Article
Functionally-Graded Metallic Syntactic Foams Produced via Particle Pre-Compaction
by Thomas Fiedler, Nima Movahedi, Lucas York and Steffen Broxtermann
Metals 2020, 10(3), 314; https://doi.org/10.3390/met10030314 - 28 Feb 2020
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 4159
Abstract
This paper introduces a novel functionally graded metallic syntactic foam. The investigated foams are manufactured while using infiltration casting where molten A356 aluminum flows into the interstitial voids of packed expanded perlite (EP) particle beds. The partial pre-compaction of particle beds enables the [...] Read more.
This paper introduces a novel functionally graded metallic syntactic foam. The investigated foams are manufactured while using infiltration casting where molten A356 aluminum flows into the interstitial voids of packed expanded perlite (EP) particle beds. The partial pre-compaction of particle beds enables the creation of distinct and reproducible density gradients within the syntactic foam. In this study, the samples are produced using four gradually increasing compaction forces and are compared to non-compacted samples. X-ray imaging is used to detect the resulting spatial variation of foam density. In addition, quasi-static compression tests are performed to determine the mechanical foam properties. The results suggest that particle pre-compaction is an efficient tool for tailoring the density and mechanical properties of these novel functionally graded materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Metal Casting Technology)
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15 pages, 5602 KiB  
Article
Characteristics and Formation Tendency of Freckle Segregation in Electroslag Remelted Bearing Steel
by Wei Yan, Yang Zhang, Weiqing Chen and Jing Li
Metals 2020, 10(2), 246; https://doi.org/10.3390/met10020246 - 12 Feb 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3495
Abstract
Undesirable macro segregation defects, freckles, restrict the commercial production of large-sized electroslag remelting (ESR) bearing steel ingots through degradation of the mechanical properties and service lifetime. In order to clarify the freckle characteristics and formation tendency as well as the formation mechanism, freckles [...] Read more.
Undesirable macro segregation defects, freckles, restrict the commercial production of large-sized electroslag remelting (ESR) bearing steel ingots through degradation of the mechanical properties and service lifetime. In order to clarify the freckle characteristics and formation tendency as well as the formation mechanism, freckles from an industrial large-sized GCr15SiMn ESR ingot were investigated through structural and compositional analysis, along with simulation calculation. The results show that freckles consist of (Si, Mn, Cr)-enriched equiaxed grains and occur in about the 1/2 radius region at the middle-upper part of the ESR ingot, where the secondary dendritic arm spacing (SDAS) and solidification front angle are large but cooling rate is small. The absolute value of relative Rayleigh number, Ra, also reaches its maximum in the 1/2 radius region, with a liquid fraction of 0.3–0.5, corresponding to the region where freckles form. Based on the experimental and simulation results, to evaluate the freckle formation in industrial-scale GCr15SiMn ESR ingots, the threshold value of relative Ra, a freckle criterion considering the compositional and thermal effects, was determined to be about −0.023. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Metal Casting Technology)
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19 pages, 13289 KiB  
Article
Measurement of Metal Velocity in Sand Casting during Mold Filling
by Santosh Reddy Sama, Eric MacDonald, Robert Voigt and Guha Manogharan
Metals 2019, 9(10), 1079; https://doi.org/10.3390/met9101079 - 6 Oct 2019
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 8804
Abstract
Melt turbulence during mold filling is detrimental to the quality of sand castings. In this research study, the authors present a novel method of embedding Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to monitor real-time melt flow velocity in sand molds during metal casting. Cavities [...] Read more.
Melt turbulence during mold filling is detrimental to the quality of sand castings. In this research study, the authors present a novel method of embedding Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to monitor real-time melt flow velocity in sand molds during metal casting. Cavities are incorporated in sand molds to position the sensors with precise registration. Capacitive and magnetic sensors are embedded in the cavities where melt flow velocity is calculated by using an oscillator, the frequency of which is sensitive to changes in the close field permittivity, and change in magnetic flux, respectively. Their efficiency is investigated by integrating the sensors into 3D sand-printing (3DSP) molds for conical-helix and straight sprue configurations to measure flow velocities for aluminum alloy 319. Experimental melt flow velocities are within 5% of estimations from computational simulations. A major benefit of 3DSP is the geometrical freedom for complex gating systems necessary to reduce turbulence and access to mold volume for sensor integration during 3DSP processing. Findings from this study establish the opportunity of embedding IoT sensors in sand molds to monitor metal velocity in order to validate simulation results (2–5% error), compare gating systems performance, and improve foundry practice of manual pouring as a quality control system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Metal Casting Technology)
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16 pages, 5481 KiB  
Article
Effect of Final Electromagnetic Stirring Parameters on Central Cross-Sectional Carbon Concentration Distribution of High-Carbon Square Billet
by Yong Wan, Menghua Li, Liangjun Chen, Yichao Wu, Jie Li, Hongbo Pan and Wei Zhong
Metals 2019, 9(6), 665; https://doi.org/10.3390/met9060665 - 7 Jun 2019
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3175
Abstract
The effect of final electromagnetic stirring parameters, with current intensity increasing from 300 A to 400 A and frequency increasing from 4 Hz to 12 Hz, on the electromagnetic forces and carbon concentration distribution of the central cross section of a 70 steel [...] Read more.
The effect of final electromagnetic stirring parameters, with current intensity increasing from 300 A to 400 A and frequency increasing from 4 Hz to 12 Hz, on the electromagnetic forces and carbon concentration distribution of the central cross section of a 70 steel square billet have been studied. Along the center line of the liquid core zone, current intensity of 400 A and frequency of 8 Hz achieve the maximum electromagnetic force at the position 48 mm away from the billet edge among the 10 groups of stirring parameters. Nevertheless, along diagonal of the liquid core zone, the electromagnetic force near the diagonal center is the greatest and the current intensity of 280 A and frequency of 12 Hz obtain the maximum electromagnetic force. The optimal final electromagnetic stirring (F-EMS) parameter to uniform the central cross-sectional carbon concentration and minimize the center carbon segregation of 70 steel billet was obtained with a current intensity of 280 A and frequency of 12 Hz. Under this stirring parameter, the area ratios of carbon concentrations of 0.66 wt%, 0.70 wt% and 0.74 wt% in the middle of the billet cross section reached 28.5%, 56.9% and 10.9%, respectively. Moreover, the carbon segregation indexes for all sampling points were in the range of 0.92–1.05. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Metal Casting Technology)
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11 pages, 12518 KiB  
Article
Experimental Investigation of Solidification in the Cast Mold with a Consumable Cooler Introduced Inside
by Ran Niu, Baokuan Li, Zhongqiu Liu, Lifu Bu, Xianglong Li, Xiao Yang and Fumitaka Tsukihashi
Metals 2019, 9(1), 55; https://doi.org/10.3390/met9010055 - 9 Jan 2019
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4018
Abstract
The microstructure is of great significance for the stability and mechanical performance of the cast slab. Recently, an innovative technology of feeding a consumable cooler into the mold has been proposed to improve the internal quality of castings. But the mechanism is not [...] Read more.
The microstructure is of great significance for the stability and mechanical performance of the cast slab. Recently, an innovative technology of feeding a consumable cooler into the mold has been proposed to improve the internal quality of castings. But the mechanism is not clear. In the present work, a water-cooled transparent laboratory equipment was set up and solidification of NH4Cl-70%H2O solution was studied to observe the in-situ growth and sedimentation of crystals. The experiments were conducted with and without adding a consumable cooler. Morphology variation of the solidification structure was visualized and temperature distribution during the process was recorded. Results show that introduction of the consumable cooler significantly reduces the temperature of the central zone. Melting of the consumable cooler can supply a large quantity of equiaxed crystals, which prevent the growth of columnar dendrites and thereby promote columnar to equiaxed transition (CET). Moreover, the enhanced convection shows an effect of grain refinement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Metal Casting Technology)
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