Metal Penetration in Sand Molds for Steel Castings: Annual Report

摘要

Case studies of samples of penetration provided by consortium members showed examples of mechanical-type penetration defects and of what appeared to be chemical penetration. Sessile drop experiments of various mold substrate materials using carbon, stainless, and Mn steels showed that Mn steel wets silica strongly, indicating that silica is not a suitable mod material for this family of alloys. Contact angles were lower for steels than for cast irons. Magnesite appeared to be the best overall mold material, although zircon flour also performed well. A simplified 1-D model was developed which predicts the diffusion rates which could cause chemical penetration. It shows that, contrary to the case in cast iron, chemical penetration is a possibility in medium and low carbon steels, as diffusion of C to the casting surface may not always occur quickly enough to protect the surface from an oxidizing reaction. The mass spectrometer gas chromatograph train was modified for accurately determining the water content of gas at the mold/metal interface. Initial gas measurements indicated that the gas generated at the interface in steel castings is 80% H2-20% CO, instead of the 50% H2- 50% CO mixture found in cast iron.