The Effect of Grain Refiner and Mechanical Vibration on Feedability in Sand and Plaster Mold Casting of Etial 177 Aluminum Alloy

Abstract

Aluminum alloys are widely used in industry due to their many advantages for engineering. In aluminum alloys, the final product properties emerge during the solidification process. For this reason, the aim in casting aluminum alloys is to obtain a fine-grained structure by using grain refiner alloys such as Ti and B. In addition, there are alternative methods for the fine-grained structure. In this study, the effects of grain refiner addition and mechanical vibration on feedability of Etial 177 aluminum alloy in sand and plaster mould casting were investigated. A model with different solidification times was designed and castings were carried out in molds prepared using this model. In the study, liquid metal cleaning, sand and plaster mould casting, density measurement with Archimedes principle, cross-sectional surface examinations, pore measurement techniques were used. It was determined that the feedability values changed depending on the solidification time and the amount of pores decreased in fine-grained structures. It has been observed that the mechanical vibration has a positive effect on the microstructure, and the pore value of the castings with grain refiner additions is further reduced compared to the castings without additions.

Keywords

• Etial 177 casting alloy
• sand mould
• plaster mold
• feedability
• grain refinement
• mechanical vibration.

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