Influence of ingate system design on mechanical properties for a cast A1-10Si-0.38Mg alloy

• In this work the influence of the ingate system design on the as-cast mechanical properties of an Al-10Si-0.38Mg alloy have been clarified. The Weibull distribution has been seen to describe the spread in mechanical properties very well. The Weibull modulus has therefore been used as a measure of the soundness of an ingate system. Different ingate systems were investigated, including: expanding systems, pressurised systems, systems with and without filter, systems with different designs of the connection between the downsprue and the runner, and systems with and without an additional pocket at the end of the runner. The modification index of the microstructure was also measured in order to investigate if the spread in data is more dependent on the modification index than on the ingate system design. The results showed that a high Weibull modulus is more dependent on the ingate system design than on the modification index of the microstructure. The ultimate tensile strength was not significantly affected by the ingate system design, while the fracture elongation seemed to be more dependent on the melt quality than on the ingate system design. The Weibull modulus indicates that expanding systems are better than pressurised systems, and that the use of a filter in the runner is very beneficial. An additional pocket at the end of the runner has no beneficial effect when using a filter. The connection between the downsprue and the runner should have a rounded bend and the change in cross-section between the downsprue and the runner should be chamfered and not sharp.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Materialteknik -- Metallurgi och metalliska material (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Materials Engineering -- Metallurgy and Metallic Materials (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Ingate system

Mechanical properties

Mould filling

Weibull modulus

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

rap (subject category)