In the paper, an attempt was made to evaluate the effect of preliminary wetting of high-silica base during preparation of moulding sands
containing a selected grade of sodium water-glass, designed for hardening by traditional drying or by electromagnetic microwaves at 2.45
GHz. In the research, some water was dosed during stirring the sandmix before adding 1.5 wt% of the binder that was unmodified sodium
water-glass grade 137, characterised by high molar module within 3.2 to 3.4. Scope of the examinations included determining the effect of
wetting the base on mechanical parameters like compression, bending and tensile strength, as well as on technological parameters like
permeability, abrasion resistance and apparent density. The research revealed a significant positive effect of adding water to wet surfaces
of high-silica base grains on mechanical properties and quality of moulding sands hardened by physical methods, in particular by
microwave heating
In the paper, an attempt is made to explain the previously observed increased effectiveness of utilising hydrated sodium water-glass grade
137 after hardening moulding sands with selected physical methods. In the modified process of preparing sandmixes, during stirring
components, water as a wetting additive was introduced to the sand-binder system. Presented are examination results of influence of faster
microwave heating and slower traditional drying of the so-prepared moulding sands on their tensile and bending strength, calculated per
weight fraction of the binder. The measurement results were confronted with SEM observations of linking bridges and with chemical
analyses of grain surfaces of high-silica base. On the grounds of comprehensive evaluation of hardened moulding sands, positive effects
were found of the applied physical process of binder dehydration and presence of the wetting additive. It was observed that introduction of
this additive during stirring, before adding the binder, improves flowing the binder to the places where durable linking bridges are created.
It was also found that the applied methods of hardening by dehydration enable creation of very durable linking bridges, strongly connected
with the sand base, which results in damages of high-silica grain surfaces, when the bridges are destroyed.
In the paper, a research on effects of baking temperature on chromite sand base of moulding sands bonded with sodium silicate is
presented. Pure chromite sand and its chromite-based moulding sand prepared with use of sodium silicate were subjected to heating within
100 to 1200 °C. After cooling-down, changes of base grains under thermal action were determined. Chromite moulding sand was prepared
with use of 0.5 wt% of domestic made, unmodified sodium silicate (water-glass) grade 145. After baking at elevated temperatures, creation
of rough layer was observed on grain surfaces, of both pure chromite sand and that used as base of a moulding sand. Changes of sand
grains were evaluated by scanning microscopy and EDS analyses. It was found that changes on grain surfaces are of laminar nature. The
observed layer is composed of iron oxide (II) that is one of main structural components of chromite sand. In order to identify changes in
internal structure of chromite sand grains, polished sections were prepared of moulding sand hardened with microwaves and baked at
elevated temperatures. Microscopic observations revealed changes in grains structure in form of characteristically crystallised acicular
particles with limited magnesium content, intersecting at various angles. EDS analysis showed that these particles are composed mostly of
chromium oxide (III) and iron oxide (II). The temperature above that the a.m. changes are observed in both chromite-based moulding sand
and in pure chromite sand. The observed phenomena were linked with hardness values and mass of this sand.
The article presents analysis of the influence of ingate size on the Lost Foam casting process. In particular, analysis of simulation tests has been carried out to determine the ingate size influence on the rate of filling of the mould cavity, pressure in the gas gap and size of the gas gap. A specially prepared mathematical model of the process and an original calculation algorithm were used in simulation tests of full-mould casting. The tests have indicated that the increase of the ingate size results in the increase of filling rate and increase of pressure of gases in the gas gap. However, significant influence on mould cavity filling occurs only when the ingate size is less than ~1 cm2.
.
In the paper, a research on effects of baking temperature on chromite sand base of moulding sands bonded with sodium silicate is
presented. Pure chromite sand and its chromite-based moulding sand prepared with use of sodium silicate were subjected to heating within
100 to 1200 °C. After cooling-down, changes of base grains under thermal action were determined. Chromite moulding sand was prepared
with use of 0.5 wt% of domestic made, unmodified sodium silicate (water-glass) grade 145. After baking at elevated temperatures, creation
of rough layer was observed on grain surfaces, of both pure chromite sand and that used as base of a moulding sand. Changes of sand
grains were evaluated by scanning microscopy and EDS analyses. It was found that changes on grain surfaces are of laminar nature. The
observed layer is composed of iron oxide (II) that is one of main structural components of chromite sand. In order to identify changes in
internal structure of chromite sand grains, polished sections were prepared of moulding sand hardened with microwaves and baked at
elevated temperatures. Microscopic observations revealed changes in grains structure in form of characteristically crystallised acicular
particles with limited magnesium content, intersecting at various angles. EDS analysis showed that these particles are composed mostly of
chromium oxide (III) and iron oxide (II). The temperature above that the a.m. changes are observed in both chromite-based moulding sand
and in pure chromite sand. The observed phenomena were linked with hardness values and mass of this sand.
Casting industry has been enriched with the processes of mechanization and automation in production. They offer both better working standards, faster and more accurate production, but also have begun to generate new opportunities for new foundry defects. This work discusses the disadvantages of processes that can occur, to a limited extend, in the technologies associated with mould assembly and during the initial stages of pouring. These defects will be described in detail in the further part of the paper and are mainly related to the quality of foundry cores, therefore the discussion of these issues will mainly concern core moulding sands. Four different types of moulding mixtures were used in the research, representing the most popular chemically bonded moulding sands used in foundry practise. The main focus of this article is the analysis of the influence of the binder type on mechanical and thermal deformation in moulding sands.
Presented are results of a research on the possibility of using artificial neural networks for forecasting mechanical and technological
parameters of moulding sands containing water-glass, hardened in the innovative microwave heating process. Trial predictions were
confronted with experimental results of examining sandmixes prepared on the base of high-silica sand, containing various grades of
sodium water-glass and additions of a wetting agent. It was found on the grounds of obtained values of tensile strength and permeability
that, with use of artificial neural networks, it is possible complex forecasting mechanical and technological properties of these materials
after microwave heating and the obtained data will be used in further research works on application of modern analytic methods for
designing production technology of high-quality casting cores and moulds.
The results of investigations of three commercial binders applied in the Alphaset technology marked as: Sample E , Sample T and Sample S are presented in the hereby paper. These samples were subjected to the pyrolysis process at a temperature of 900°C (inert atmosphere, He 99.9999). The gas chromatograph coupled with the mass spectrometer and pyrolizer (Py-GC/MS) were used in the study. The identification of gases emitted during the thermal decomposition was performed on the basis of the mass spectral library. The obtained results indicate a certain diversification of emitted gases. Among the pyrolysis products the following harmful substances were identified: furfuryl alcohol, formaldehyde, phenol and also substances from the BTEX (benzene, toluene and ethylobezneze and xylenes) PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) and VOC groups (Volatile Organic Compounds). Therefore, from the environment protection point of view performing systematic investigations concerning the harmfulness of binders applied in the moulding and core sands technology, is essential.
The ablation casting technology consists in pouring castings in single-use moulds made from the mixture of sand and watersoluble binder. After pouring the mould with liquid metal, while the casting is still solidifying, the mould destruction (washing out, erosion) takes place using a stream of cooling medium, which in this case is water. The following paper focuses on the selection of moulding sands with hydrated sodium silicate technologies for moulds devoted to the ablation casting of aluminum alloys. It has been proposed to use different types of moulding sands with a water-soluble binder, which is hydrated sodium silicate. The authors showed that the best kind of moulding sands for moulds for Al alloy casting will be moulding sands hardened with physical factors – through dehydration. The use of microwave hardened moulding sands and moulding sands made in hot-box technology has been proposed. The tests were carried out on moulding sands with different types of modified binder and various inorganic additives. The paper compares viscosity of different binders used in the research and thermal degradation of moulding sands with tested binders. The paper analyzes the influence of hardening time periods on bending strength of moulding sands with hydrated sodium silicate prepared in hot-box technology. The analysis of literature data and own research have shown that molding sand with hydrated sodium silicate hardened by dehydration is characterized by sufficient strength properties for the ablation foundry of Al alloys.