Solid mold investment casting – A replication process for open-cell foam metal production

Kerem Altug Guler

doi:10.3139/120.110769

Article

Solid mold investment casting – A replication process for open-cell foam metal production

Kerem Altug Guler

Published/Copyright: August 31, 2015

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From the journal Materials Testing Volume 57 Issue 9

Abstract

Foam metals have always been an interesting material type because of their unique properties and various production techniques. In this study, solid mold investment casting process, which is one of the replication techniques, was used to produce open-cell aluminum foam specimens. Commercial rubber sponge was tested as foam pattern material. Plaster bonded solid molds were prepared in the stainless steel flasks and infiltration of the slurry into the rubber sponge was carried out under vacuum. Following this, pattern removal and mold firing was carried out gradually. Molten A319 casting and A6063 wrought aluminum alloys were cast into flash molds with vacuum assistance (−10⁵ Pa). Sponge pattern and cast foam specimens were examined and compared by stereo microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM). It is clearly found that rubber sponge is a very suitable pattern material for producing open-cell foam structures.

Kurzfassung

Metallschäume sind auf Grund ihrer einzigartigen Eigenschaften und verschiedener Produktionsverfahren schon immer eine interessante Werkstoffklasse. In der diesem Beitrag zugrunde liegenden Studie wurde das Festformfeingießen als Replikationsprozess eingesetzt, um offenporige Aluminiumschaumproben herzustellen. Hierzu wurde ein kommerziell erhältlicher Gummischwamm als Schaummuster verwendet. Es wurden verklebte feste Plastikformen in hochlegierten Stahlbehältern vorbereitet und das Einsickern des Breis in den Gummischwamm unter Vakuum vorgenommen. Nacheinander wurde das Entfernen des Behälters und das Abbrennen der Form durchgeführt. Es wurden geschmolzene A 319 Gusslegierungen und A 6063 Knetlegierungen aus Aluminium unter Vakuum (−10⁵ Pa) in die Überlaufformen gegossen. Die Schwammstruktur und die gegossenen Schaumproben wurden untersucht und mittels Stereomikroskop und Rasterelektronenmikroskop (REM) verglichen. Diese Untersuchungenergaben eindeutig, dass der Gummischwamm ein sehr geeignetes Strukturmaterial zur Produktion von offenporigen Metallschaumstrukturen ist.

§Correspondence Address, Assistant Prof. Dr. Kerem Altug Guler, Department of Metallurgical and Material Engineering, Yildiz Technical University, Davutpasa Campus, 34210 Esenler, Istanbul, Turkey. E-mail: keremaltug@gmail.com

Kerem Altug Guler, born in 1981, is Assistant Professor at the Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey. He received his MSc degree and his PhD degree in Materials Science from Yildiz Technical University in 2005 and 2012, respectively. He is working on several casting techniques such as investment casting and lost foam casting, and he also does research on metal matrix composites and cellular metals.

References

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Published Online: 2015-08-31

Published in Print: 2015-09-01

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https://doi.org/10.3139/120.110769