Study on Mechanical Properties of Lost Foam Pattern in Machining

Lost foam casting has special requirements on the process performance of molding machinery, and the processing technology of Lost foam casting pattern is one of the core and key technologies of Lost foam casting. The research status of lost foam pattern and the safety problems existing in the process of lost foam casting were analyzed. The mechanical properties of lost foam pattern and its mechanical property model were studied, which provided theoretical support for the research of numerical control processing and safe casting of lost foam pattern. The development of Lost foam casting pattern NC processing technology is conducive to the use of information technology, digital technology to enhance the technological progress of traditional industries, promote the clean production of Lost foam casting, realize energy saving and emission reduction, and promote the rapid development of mechanical equipment manufacturing industry.

Microfluidics approach to investigate foam hysteretic behaviour

Foam stability often refers to the foam left to evolve with time in static conditions. However, in everyday life, foams are submitted to numerous deformations. A feature of foam stability is represented by the foam’s ability to resist to the deformation and to recover its initial properties after deformation. The technique developed here allows for a qualitative evaluation of the property of foam recovery after a deformation in a flow-focusing microfluidic device. The foam hysteretic behaviour was evaluated by introducing the analogous of a standard three-step test in which the recovery of viscosity is commonly studied over three deformation stages. The foam behaviour is analysed over an induced cycle of ascendant and descendant deformation at the wall, well controlled by varying the gas pressure for a constant liquid pressure. Thus, the recovery of the two-row foam pattern used as reference is studied after a high deformation phase corresponding to the bamboo pattern and the level of hysteresis is measured qualitatively. The samples investigated comprise a range of Newtonian aqueous solutions containing 5 cmc (critical micellar concentration) of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS). A retardation effect was observed leading to hysteresis caused by the increase in viscosity. A higher surface elasticity produced a smaller but non-negligible hysteresis due to an excess in elastic energy caused by the increase of the duration of the bubble rearrangements. The present study has gone some way towards enhancing our understanding of the mechanisms triggering or enhancing foam hysteresis in a microchannel. The findings will be of interest to many industrial processes where foams are submitted to a series of deformation steps along the process line from food industrial applications to biological systems. Graphical abstract A schematic of the three-step test consisting in an ascending and descending pressure ramps obtained by varying the gas pressure for a constant liquid pressure.

Research of Foam Pattern Processing for Lost Foam Casting

In the whole process of the LFC (or evaporative pattern casting, EPC), the quality of the foam pattern play a decisive role to the final casting quality. The present processing methods for the foam pattern are discussed, including foaming molding, manual cutting, and CNC machining, rapid prototyping, also the advantages and disadvantages of these processing methods are analyzed. As CNC machining become the main trend for foam pattern processing, some CNC machine oriented tools are summarized, including the hot wire foam cutter, the hot knife foam cutter, and the modified tools based on the traditional tools.

Influence of Pattern Coating Thickness on Porosity and Mechanical Properties of Lost Foam Casting of Al-Si (LM6) Alloy

The combination of Aluminum alloy with lost foam casting (LFC) process is best applied in automotive industry to replace steel components in order to achieve light weight components for reducing fuel consumption and to protect the environment. The LFC process involves process parameters such as the degree of vacuum, foam degradation, expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam density, permeability of foam pattern coatings, pouring temperature, filling velocity, cooling rate, and pressure. The effect of polystyrene foam pattern coating thickness on the porosity and mechanical properties of Aluminum Al-Si LM6 alloy were evaluated experimentally. The coating thickness was controlled by slurry viscosity at range between 18sec to 20sec using Zahn viscosity cup No.5 and the foam pattern was coated up to fifth layer. Aluminum Al-Si (LM6) molten metal was poured into expandable mould and castings were examined to determine porosity distribution, mechanical properties and microscopic observation. Results from X-ray testing reveal the porosity distribution on Aluminum Al-Si LM6 castings is greater at thicker foam pattern coating sample. Meanwhile, the tensile strength of casting decreases when foam pattern coating thickness increases. Microscope observation portray the present of porosity on the casting which shows more gas defects present at thicker foam pattern coating sample. The source of porosity in LFC process is due to air entrainment or the entraining gases from polystyrene foam decomposition during pouring of molten metal. As a conclusion, mechanical strength has inverse relationship with porosity.

Numerical Simulation of Lost Foam Casting in Special-Shaped Stainless Steel Stirrer

The filling process, solidification process, gasification process and node temperature change of special-shaped stainless steel stirrer via lost foam casting was simulated and analyzed by using ProCAST numerical simulation techniques. The results show that the filling and foam gasification process of stainless steel stirrer casting is a top-down, from the middle layers of outward promotion process. In the filling process, foam pattern gasification and decomposition appeared to be exacerbated by heat transfer in the whole casting. Through the node temperature change over time, it can be conformed to the principles of the order of solidification in the entire stirrer casting solidification process.

Thermal Analysis during Solidification of Mg-4%.wtAl Alloy during Lost Foam Casting Process

The lost foam casting (LFC) process utilizes the expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam pattern for the production of metallic components. The thermal degradation of the foam pattern has a significant effect on microstructure of the component. Dendrite coherency is important for the determination of the formation of the solidification structure and cast ability of alloys. The effects of the dendrite coherency on grain size in Mg-4Al alloy have been studied using the two-thermocouple thermal analysis technique in the solidified sample. The results also indicate that the grain size increases with the temperature interval between liquids (TN) and dendrite coherency point (TDCP), The solid fraction at DCP (fsDCP) expressed in percent strongly dependents on the dendrite morphology during solidification.

Simulation of Gas-Solid Two-Phase Flow to Process of Filling the Foam Mould

In lost foam casting (LFC), the foam pattern is the key qualification, and the filling process is one of the crucial processes to ensure the high quality of the foam pattern. Filling without uniformity and denseness will cause various defects and affect the quality of the surface. The influential factors of filling process are analyzed .And optimizing filling process, enhancing efficiency, decreasing waster are obtained by the numerical simulation of filling process using computer. The governing equations of the dense compressible gas-solid two-phase flow are established, and the physical signification of each one in the equations is discussed. The filling process is solved by Euler- Euler model. In the simulation, the volume of foam bead in every governing unit at different time is calculated, and the trend of foam bead flow is obtained. The filling process of various different conditions is simulated, considering different shooting methods and the position of baffles, and recorded by digital vidicon. The characteristics and the rules of the process are summarized. By contrasting the result of the numerical simulation with the one of examination, it is found that the fluid trend of foam bead in the numerical simulation is accordant to the actual process. So the numerical simulation of filling process by applying this model is an effective method.