Solidification and Casting Laboratory

 | Post date: 2020/07/21 | 
Supervisor: Dr. S.Mohammad H. Mirbagheri
Technician: Mr Hamid Zohrevand

INTRODUCTION

The workshop is capable of performing two series of tests related to the molding and casting materials of metals and composites. In the first series, tests can be carried out to measure sand fineness number, moisture, soil percentage, strength, and gas permeability of sand, which are the basics of preparing wet and dry sand molding materials. In the second series, aluminum, copper, cast iron and steel are melted by existing gas, resistance and induction furnaces, and simple to complex lightweight engineering parts (under 25 kg) of aforementioned metals are casted. Determining melt fluidity, investigating the effect of nucleate on the casting structure, effect of degassing on metal structure, influence of cooling rate and mold type on casting structure, conducting chilling test to investigate the effect of melt composition and cooling rate on the cast iron structure, effect of superheat temperature on the final structure of metals, and studying the effect of materials modulus on solidification time are also performed.

Research Areas

- Activities related to molding and casting sand
- Melting of copper and its alloys, aluminum and its alloys, steel and cast iron, aluminum and copper based composites, aluminum based composites by solid-liquid mixture
- Preparation of metal foams by fused and fused compaction method
- Molding material tests for determination of moisture, soil, fineness number, strength and gas permeability
- Performing shock test for thermal fatigue
- Chart drawing (T-t)
- Manufacturing metal-wood and plastic-araldite models
- Cold or hot extrusion of aluminum base composites by powder pressing method
- Qualitative melt casting operations with round-control electric stirrers from melt range to paste blend of aluminum based alloys
- Molding wet and dry sand, core sand and CO2 sand (sodium silicate adhesive)
- Performing projects related to metal melting and solidification processes
- Fluidity measurement test for alloys and metals
- Testing the effect of nucleate on structure and properties of materials
- Testing the effect of cooling rate on mechanical properties of components (sub-solidification)
- Chilling test (cooling rate of chemical compound) on cast irons
- Superheat test on the structure of alloys
- Nano experiments using brushing machine

Equipment

- Induction Furnace: high frequency arc melting furnace with a power of 25 kW, which consists of two plants with capacities of two and twelve kilograms and is capable of melting ferrous and nonferrous metals up to 1600 °C.
- 1200 °C Arc Melting Furnace: This furnace can operate by controlling temperature and keeping high temperatures constant for a long time and easily melts copper and brass alloys. Furnace capacity is up to 20 kg. These furnaces are available in two types of rectangular and cylindrical with lid from above.
- 1400 °C Gas Melting Furnace: This furnace is operated by city gas and has a capacity of up to 25 kg and is used for melting cast iron, copper and aluminum and their alloys.
- Round-control and Torque-control Electric Stirrer for metal melts: This device is connected to a robust electronic control system (Model Inventor N100). It is made of graphite and its stirring rate can be adjusted from 0 to 2400 rpm. Furnace temperature can automatically be adjustable by thermocouple and temperature controller. Engine power is 1.5 kW and maximum operating temperature is 1200 °C.
- Shaker Screening Machine for measuring sand fineness: With this device, distribution, dispersion, and sand-screen ratio plots are determined. Fineness number is determined by this device using 11 screens. Grain sizes can be calculated in three geometric, arithmetic, and progressive scales.
- Infrared Humidity Meter: This device is capable of measuring accurate humidity using infrared rays and evaporation very quickly.
- Electric Sand Strength Meter: This machine can determine the strength of molding and coring sand in wet and dry conditions under compressive and shear stress according to standards. It draws a force-displacement diagram automatically on two computers.



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