Effect of Mold Material on Cooling Curves of Aluminum during Solidification

The effect of cooling rate on the as-cast structure, cooling curve, and solidification time of aluminum was studied. For this purpose, metallic, green sand, and phenolic resin molds were considered. K-type thermocouple was inserted in the middle cross section of each mold and the continuous cooling curves from the pouring temperature were recorded using an accurate data acquisition system. It was revealed that by decreasing the cooling rate, the solidification time increases significantly and the columnar grains become coarser. Subsequently the Chvorinov Rule was used to rationalize the solidification behavior and it was revealed that the mold constant decreases with increasing cooling rate.

Keywords:

Aluminum , Solidification , continuous cooling curves , Chvorinov Rule