Chapter 2

Fluid dynamics

Getting the liquid metal out of the crucible or uphill filling of investment castings. A form of
melting furnace and into the mould is a critical step high-pressure die casting has also been developed to
when making a casting: it is likely that most casting take advantage of the quality benefits associated
scrap arises during the few seconds of pouring of the with low-pressure filling followed by high-pressure
casting. consolidation. These different techniques of getting
The series of funnels, pipes and channels to guide the metal into the mould will all be discussed in this
the metal from the ladle into the mould constitutes section.
our liquid metal plumbing, and is known as the It is hoped to answer the questions 'Why is the
running system. Its design is crucial; so crucial, that running system so complicated?' and 'Why are there
this is without doubt the most important chapter in so many different features?' It is a salutary fact that
the book. the apparent complexity has led to much confused
Most castings are made by pouring the liquid thinking.
metal into the opening of the running system under An invaluable general rule which I recommend to
the action of gravity. This is a simple and quick way all those studying running and gating systems is 'If in
to make a casting. Thus gravity sand casting and doubt, visualise water'. Most of us have clear
gravity die casting are important casting processes at perceptions about the mobility and general flow
the present time. Gravity castings have, however, behaviour of water in the gentle pouring of a cup of
gained a poor reputation for reliability and quality, tea, the splat as it is spilled on the floor, the flow of a
simply because their running systems have in river over a weir, or the spray from a hose. A
general been badly designed. Surface turbulence has general feeling for this behaviour can sometimes
led to unreliability in leak-tightness and mechanical allow us to cut through the mystique, and sometimes
properties. even the calculations! In addition, the application of
Nevertheless, there are rules for the design of this simple criterion can often result in the instant
gravity-running systems which, although admittedly dismissal of many existing running systems intended
far from perfect, are much better than nothing. for the production of a reliable quality of casting as
They are mainly empirical, based on transparent- being useless!
model work and some confirmatory tests on real
castings. Although many uncertainties remain, their 2.1 Surface-tension-controlled filling
intelligent use allows castings of the highest quality
to be made. They are therefore described in this This section starts with the problem that the liquid
section, and constitute essential reading! may not be able to enter the mould at all! This is to
Historically, however, there has been a move be expected if the section thickness is small (in
away from gravity casting as a result of what have general less than approximately 2mm as we shall
been believed to be insoluble barriers to the see). It is an effect due to surface tension. If the
attainment of high quality and reliability. Uphill surface is subjected to being sharply curved against a
filling, against gravity, known as low-pressure non-wetted mould then it will be subject to a
casting, has provided a solution to the elimination of repulsive force which will resist the entry of the
surface turbulence, and thus provided the impetus metal. Even if the metal enters, it will still be subject
for the growth of low pressure die casting, to the continuing resistance of surface tension,
low-pressure sand casting, and various forms of which will tend to reverse the flow of metal, causing
it to empty out of the mould if there is any reduction outgassing in the mould does lower the effective
in the filling pressure. These are important effects in head which is driving the filling of the mould. It is
narrow-section moulds (i.e. thin-section castings) good practice, therefore, to vent narrow sections,
and have to be taken into account. reducing this resistance to practically zero.
We may usefully quantify our understanding of It is also clear from the above result that,
this problem with the well-known formula provided the mould is permeable and/or well
vented, atmospheric pressure plays no part in
Pf - P6 = Y (l/ri + l/r2) (2.1) helping or resisting the filling of thin sections in air,
where P1 is the pressure inside the metal, and P6 is since it acts equally on both sides of the liquid front,
the external pressure of the local environment in the cancelling any effect. Interestingly, the same
mould. The two radii define the curvature of the equation and reasoning applies to casting in
meniscus in two planes at right angles. The equation vacuum, which, of course, can be regarded as
applies to the condition when the pressure differ- casting under a reduced atmospheric pressure.
ence across the interface is exactly in balance with Clearly, vacuum in itself is therefore not helpful in
the effective pressure due to surface tension. To overcoming the resistance to filling provided by
describe the situation when the filling pressures surface tension (although, to be fair, it may help by
exceed the resistance of surface tension, for instance reducing Pm by outgassing the mould to some extent
when filling a circular-section tube of radius r prior to casting, and it will help where the
(where both radii are now identical), the relation permeability of the mould is low, allowing any
becomes: residual gases to be compressed ahead of the
advancing stream).
P1 - P6 > 2Y/r (2.2) In the case of vacuum-assisted filling (not vacuum
For the case of filling a narrow plate of thickness 2r, casting) the atmospheric pressure is allowed to act
the radius at right angles becomes infinite, so 1/r on the liquid metal via the running system, but is
becomes zero. The relation then becomes: removed locally within the mould, by drawing a
vacuum either through the permeable mould, or
P1 - P6 > Y/r (2.3) through fine channels cut through to the section
We have so far assumed that the liquid metal does required to be filled (as is commonly applied to the
not wet the mould. If this happens then the trailing edge of an aerofoil blade section). In this
curvature terms 1/r become negative, so allowing way Pm is guaranteed to be zero or negligible, and
surface tension to assist the metal to enter the Pa remains a powerful pressure to assist in the
mould. This is, of course, the familiar phenomenon overcoming of surface tension as the equation
of capillary attraction. The pores in blotting paper indicates:
attract the ink into them, as does the wick of the
candle the molten wax. In general, the casting Pa + Pgh > Y/r (2.6)
technologist attempts to avoid it in metal-mould It is useful to evaluate the terms of this equation to
interactions. However, it sometimes happens de- gain a feel for the size of the effects involved.
spite all efforts to prevent it. These problems are Taking, roughly, g as 10m/s2, and for liquid
dealt with in Section 3.4. aluminium p as 2500 kg/m3 and y as l.ON/m (for
Continuing now in our assumption that the steels and high-temperature alloys the correspond-
metal-mould combination is non-wetting, we shall ing values are approximately 7000 kg/m3 and 2.ON/
estimate what head of metal will be necessary to m), the resistance term y/r works out to be 2kPa for
force it into a wall section of thickness 2r for a a 1-mm section (0.5mm radius) and 1OkPa for a
gravity casting made under normal atmospheric 0.1-mm radius trailing edge on the blades of a
pressure. If the head of liquid is h, then the turbine wheel.
hydrostatic pressure at this depth is pgh, where p is For a head of metal h 100 mm the head pressure
the density of the liquid, and g the acceleration due pgh is 2.5 kPa, showing that the 1-mm section might
to gravity. The total pressure inside the metal is just fill. However, the trailing edge has no chance;
therefore the sum of the head pressure and the the head pressure is insufficient to overcome the
atmospheric pressure, Pa. The external pressure is repulsion of surface tension. However, if vacuum
simply the pressure in the mould due to the assistance were applied (not vacuum casting) then
atmosphere Pa plus the pressure contributed by the additional 100 kPa of atmospheric pressure
mould gases Pm. The equation now is should ensure filling. In practice it should be noted
that the full value of atmospheric pressure is not
(Pa + pgh) - (Pa + Pm) > v/r (2.4) easily obtained in vacuum-assisted casting; in most
which gives immediately cases a value nearer half an atmosphere is more
usual. Even so, the effect is still important: one
Pgh -Pm> V/r (2.5) atmosphere pressure corresponds to 4m head of
It follows that the back-pressure due to the liquid aluminium, and approximately 1.5m head of
denser metals such as irons, steels and high- If the section is halved, the required head for
temperature alloys. In modest-sized castings of penetration is, of course, doubled. Similarly, if the
overall heights around 100mm or so, these valuable mould shape is not a flat section which imposes only
filling pressures are not easily obtainable by other one curvature on the meniscus, but is a circular hole
means. of diameter lmm, which, of course, curves the
For those castings which have sections of only 1 or surface additionally at right angles to the first
2mm or less, the surface tension wields a strong curvature, then, as for Equation 2.2, the head is
control over the tightly radiused front. Filling is only doubled again.
possible by the operation of outside agencies, such
as the centrifugal action of the jeweller's centrifuge, 2.2 Surface finish
or the application of vacuum assistance. Filling can
occur upwards or downwards without problems, When the pressure in the liquid metal becomes
being always under the control of the surface sufficiently high, surface tension is no longer able to
tension, which effectively keeps the surface com- resist the penetration of the metal into the spaces
pact; no surface turbulence is possible to allow the between the sand grains of the mould. The size of
surface to break up into drops, or to allow the the holes between the sand grains can be roughly
formation of freely falling streams and jets, which estimated assuming that the radius of the inter-
would normally lead to splashing. The integrity of granular spaces is only approximately 15.4 per cent
the front is under the control of surface tension at all of the radius of the sand grains (Hoar, 1953).
times. This special feature of the filling of very The penetration of the mould in this way produces
thin-walled castings means that they do not require a 'furry' casting which may be quite unsaleable. The
formal running systems. In fact, such thin-walled penetration may be only one grain deep, giving
investment castings are made successfully by simply effectively an excessively rough surface. However
attaching wax patterns in any orientation directly to penetrations of 20-50 mm are not uncommon in
a sprue (Figure 2.1). No well, runner or gate is large castings. In a classical series of experiments,
necessary. Hoar and Atterton (1950 to 1956) demonstrate that
once the critical pressure difference to force the
metal into the sand is exceeded, then penetration
occurs rapidly, within a second or so. The depth of
(Steel container) penetration is controlled by the freezing of the
(Permeable leading edge of the advancing metal when it reaches
plaster mould) the freezing isotherm in the sand. Clearly, this
distance is greater for larger castings. The mix of
solid metal and sand is difficult to remove from such
castings.
Attempts are made to resist such mould pen-
etration by reducing the size of the pores by:
1. The use of finer sand for the mould or core. For
cores this approach is limited by the requirement
to maintain the permeability of the core material
so that core gases can escape during casting. It is,
however, widely used for vacuum (V) process
moulding, where the vacuum which is applied to
Vacuum maintain the rigidity of the mould assists in
drawing the liquid metal into the pores between
Figure 2.1 A plaster mould encased in a steel box using the sand grains. Thus whereas normal sand
vacuum-assisted filling. No formal running system is
required for such small thin section castings. castings have an average grain size in the range
250-500 iim, sands for the V process are approxi-
To gain an idea of the head of metal required to mately 50-150 ^m. This results in a serious dust
force the liquid metal into small sections, from nuisance, which is a great pity since the vacuum
Equation 2.6 we have: moulding process is otherwise excellent in its
environmental benefits. Newer plants are im-
pg/i = v/r proving their designs to tackle this problem.
h = y/rpg (2.6a) 2. The application of a mould wash - a ceramic
slurry applied as a paint to fill the spaces between
Using the values for aluminium and steel given the sand grains. The pores in the dried coating
above, we can now quickly show that to penetrate a are one or two orders of magnitude smaller than
1-mm section we require heads of approximately 80 the pores between the grains, thus, in line with
and 60mm respectively for these two metals. Equation 2.2, enabling the mould surface to
 withstand 10-100 times greater pressures before moulds are usually of simple shapes. The technique
metal penetration. is valuable for totally unrelated reasons: (1) for
pipes and cylinders and the like, because the
Although the metal will often still succeed in centrifugal action avoids the requirement for a
penetrating the sand coating through cracks, the central cylindrical core to make a hollow shape; and
penetrated sand only adheres to the casting at the (2) for enhancing the pressure in the casting during
isolated points of failure of the coat, and so is freezing to reduce porosity. In this case, however, it
relatively easy to remove. This action is generally has to be pointed out that the production of shaped
used to counter metal penetration at the base of tall castings by this route involves pouring the liquid
moulds, which can sometimes be more than a metre metal down a central down-runner, and accelerating
high. it out along radial runners, to arrive in the mould at
The application of a core wash is only marginally such a high speed that considerable damage is done
successful, however, in resisting metal penetration to both mould and metal. The high centrifugal
with the use of sand cores in low-pressure die pressures are then needed to help to repair some of
casting. This seems to be the result of the rather this damage in the casting. Shaped castings would
poor pressure control on most low-pressure probably be cheaper and better if not centrifuged at
machines, and the additive effect of the momentum all, but simply produced with a properly designed
of the metal, giving a pressure peak at the instant gravity-running system.
when the liquid hits the top of the mould (see
Section 3.1.2). Sand cores are only rarely used,
therefore, in low-pressure die casting. For similar 2.3 Running systems
reasons, sand cores have proved impractical for 2.3.1 Gravity pouring of open top moulds
high-pressure die casting. In this case other solutions
such as water-soluble salt, glass, or ceramic cores, Most castings require a mould to be formed in two
have been tried with mixed success. In general, only parts: the bottom part (the drag) forms the base of
withdrawable steel cores continue to be used the casting, and the top half (the cope) forms the top
successfully. of the casting.
Filling pressures are high in pressure die casting. However, some castings require no shaping of the
This is widely alleged to be for the purpose of top surface. In this case only a drag is required. The
increasing surface finish and definition, i.e. the absence of a cope means that the mould cavity is
ability of the metal to fill small radii so as to open, so that metal can be poured directly in. The
reproduce fine detail. Pressure die casting machines foundryman can therefore direct the flow of metal
commonly operate at metal pressures of lOOOatm around the mould using his skill during pouring
(100MPa). Equation 2.3 indicates that such press- (Figure 2.2).
ures will force the liquid into radii of only 10~8m, This is a successful and economical technique for
approaching atomic dimensions! This is, of course, a the production of aluminium or bronze wall plaques
vast overkill. The student should therefore be on his and plates in cast iron, which do not require a
guard against such loose thinking. The high well-formed back surface.
pressures are actually needed mainly to reduce the Other viscous and poorly fluid materials are cast
bubble defects produced by the turbulently en- in this way, such as hydraulic cement and
trained mould gases - the bubbles are simply concretes. Molten ceramics such as liquid base t are
squashed to acceptable dimensions. Consideration treated similarly, as are organic resins and resin/
of Equation 2.3 reveals that a mere lOatm (IMPa) aggregate mixtures which constitute resin concretes.
would reproduce a radius of 0.001 mm, which would The general principle of eliminating the running
be more than good enough for most purposes. system by simply pouring into the top of the mould
Filling pressures are enhanced for the genuine (down an open feeder, for instance) may be the best
purpose of reproducing detail in the centrifugal solution in certain cases. Such an option should be
casting of jewellery. A casting travelling at 10 m/s on chosen with care, however. For instance, it is likely
an arm of radius 1 m will experience an acceleration only to be successful in those instances where the
of 100 m/s2. This is close to 1Og. In the absence of metal-mould system does not form deleterious
mould gases, and replacing the acceleration g due to films, as in the grey iron-green sand system, or
gravity with the total acceleration (g + Wg) = Ug as when high quality is unnecessary, which is rare!
the arm goes from the vertically up through the
vertically down part of its stroke, Equation 2.3
predicts that an improvement in the fineness of 2.3.2 Gravity pouring of closed moulds
detail by a factor of 11 should be achievable. Closed moulds represent the greatest challenge to
In industrial uses of centrifugal casting much the casting engineer. There are numerous ways to
higher accelerations are normally used, typically get the metal into the mould, some disastrously bad,
50-10Og. The high pressures in the liquid are, some tolerable, some good. To appreciate the good
however, not normally need for filling, since the we shall have to devote some space to the bad. If