Thermo Mechanical Characterisation of an Epoxy Resin Bounded Sand

摘要

This paper is considered with the experimental determination of thermo mechanical properties of sand mould, which have strong influence during the solidification in a casting process. To this end the uniaxial thermo mechanical behaviour with different temperatures up to the casting temperature of an aluminium alloy (AlSi7Mg) is investigated. For the tests at room temperature we use an optical measurement equipment, which is ideally suited to measure three-dimensional deformations and strains in material specimens. Furthermore, we apply different strain rates to analyse rate dependent behaviour. The storage time of the sand is also varied, because the epoxy resin in the cold box cures and the strength increases with the storage time. To characterise multiaxial stress states a Von Karman pressure cell is used with a cylindrical sample. This kind of pressure cell enables us to test the sand along the tension and compression meridian. With the experimental data we intend to develop and identify a material model for sand, taking into account the S-D effect, rate and temperature dependence and the effect of hydrostatic stress states.