Microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-Gd-Y-Zr alloy cast by metal mould and lost foam casting

The microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-10.1Gd-3.74Y-0.25Zr （mass fraction, %） alloy （GW104 alloy） cast by metal mould casting （MMC） and lost foam casting （LFC） were evaluated, respectively. It is revealed that different forming modes do not influence the phase composition of as-cast alloy. In the as-cast specimens, the microstructures are similar and composed of α-Mg solid solution, eutectic compound of α-Mg＋Mg 24 （Gd, Y） 5 and cuboid-shaped Mg 5 （Gd, Y） phase; whereas the average grain size of the alloy produced by metal mould casting is smaller than that by lost foam casting. The eutectic compound of the alloy is completely dissolved after solution treatment at 525 ℃for 6 h, while the Mg 5 （Gd, Y） phase still exists after solution treatment. After peak-ageing, the lost foam cast alloy exhibits the maximum ultimate tensile strength of 285 MPa, and metal mould cast specimen 325 MPa at room temperature, while the tensile yield strengths of them are comparable. It can be concluded that GW104 alloy cast by lost foam casting possesses similar microstructure and evidently lower mechanical strength compared with metal mould cast alloy, due to slow solidification rate and proneness to form shrinkage porosities during lost foam casting process.

Production of carbon anodes by high-temperature mould pressing

Laboratory-scale carbon anodes were produced by a new method of high temperature mould pressing, and their physico-chemical properties were studied. The influence of mould pressing conditions and coal pitch addition on the bulk density, crushing strength, and oxidation resistance was analyzed. The mierostructure of carbon anodes was investigated by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, and the mechanism of producing carbon anodes by high-temperature mould pressing was analyzed. The results show that when the anodes are produced by high-temperature mould pressing, coal pitch can expand into the coke particles and fill the pores inside the particles, which is beneficial for improving the quality of prebaked anodes. The bulk density of carbon anodes is 1.64-1.66 g/cm3, which is 0.08-0.12 g/cm3 higher than that of industrial anodes, and the oxidation resistance of carbon anodes is also significantly improved.

Microstructure and crystal growth direction of Al-Cu alloy

The microstructures and crystal growth directions of permanent mould casting（PMC） and directionally solidified（DS） Al-Cu alloys with different contents of Cu were investigated. Simultaneously, the effects of pouring temperature on the microstructure and crystal growth direction of permanent mould casting pure Al were also discussed. The results indicate that the α（Al） crystals in the pure Al do not always keep common columnar grains, but change from the columnar grains to columnar dendrites with developed arms as the pouring temperature rises. The growth direction also varies with the change of pouring temperature. Cu element has similar effects on the microstructures of the PMC and DS casting Al-Cu alloys and the α（Al） crystals gradually change from columnar crystals in turn to columnar dendrites and developed equiaxed dendrites as the Cu content increases. The crystal growth direction in the PMC alloys gradually approaches （110） orientation with increasing Cu content. But the resulting crystals with growth direction of （110） do not belong to feathery grains. There are also no feathery grains to form in all of the DS Al-Cu alloys.

Study on Blade Mould CAD/CAM for Hydrodynamic Torque COnverters

Aim To develop blade mould CAD/CAM system of torque converter. Methods The mouldconsisted of four parts and an interactive computer program was developed to design a blade mould of torque converter based on UG at workstation. Results As compar- ed to manual modeling, it is showed in the application that this means not only improves the accuracy of blade shape and manufacture efficiency of converter, but also reduces costs. Conclusion It is proved that this CAD/CAM system is successful, and it opens up widely prospects for design and manufacture of the blade elementsand their moulds.

Effect of Disinfection Time on Microbial Content and Quality of Cold Fresh Chicken

[Objective] The aim was to provide reference for the production technolo- gy of cold fresh chicken. [Method] Lactic acid was used as the disinfectant in cooling water, so as to study the effect of disinfection time on the microbial content and quality of cold fresh chicken. [Result] With disinfection of 20 min, the removal rates of the total colonies, coliforms and moulds reached over 95%. As the disinfec- tion time was further extended, it had no significant effect on the removal effects of the microbial content and could affect the tenderness and color of cold fresh chick- en. [Cendusion] The study provides references for the design and optimization of the production process of cold fresh chicken.

住宅建设的价值观

改革开放以来、大街小巷出现了各式各样的由老式住宅改建的商业味十足的快餐店、发廊、服装精品店,酒吧、歌吧、网吧厅等建筑物,这些杰作可能出自非专业人员之手,却极大地改变城市的原有风貌.它那与以往不同的风格,令民众耳目一新.同时,在旧城区改造中外商开发的风格各异的住宅小区,使得经典的建筑风格被解构,城市的矛盾性凸现出来,同时也显示出丰富性.空间在历史与现实的碰撞中变得更为复杂.不同时空状态下建筑思潮互相叠加,形成了中国当代住宅文化形态的写真.

The role and impact of 3D printing technologies in casting

3D printing is such a magical technology that it extends into almost every sector relating to manufacturing, not to mention casting production. In this paper, the past, present and future of 3D printing in the foundry sector are profoundly reviewed. 3D printing has the potential to supplement or partially replace the casting method. Today, some castings can be directly printed by metal powders, for example, titanium alloys, nickel alloys and steel parts. Meanwhile, 3D printing has found an unique position in other casting aspects as well, such as printing the wax pattern, ceramic shell, sand core, sand mould, etc. Most importantly, 3D printing is not just a manufacturing method, it will also revolutionize the design of products, assemblies and parts, such as castings, patterns, cores, moulds and shells in casting production. The solid structure of castings and moulds will be redesigned in future into truss or spatially open and skeleton structures. This kind of revolution is just sprouting, but it will bring unimaginable impact on manufacturing including casting production. Nobody doubts the potential of 3D printing technologies in manufacturing, but they do have limitations and drawbacks.

Solvent de binding of water soluble binder in powder injection moulding

The solvent debinding of water soluble binder in powder injection moulding (MIM) was investigated systematically, including the effects of solvent types, temperature and the thickness of green parts on the solvent debinding rate. After studying the debinding of a green part with a thickness of 4.26 mm, it was found that, the debinding rate of polyethylene glycol(PEG) in water and alcohol was high initially, and then decreased; however, it would increase with temperature increasing. At room temperature, the dissolution rate of PEG in water was higher than that in alcohol, but the latter would be much faster with temperature increasing because the debinding activation energy in alcohol was 51.44 kJ·mol -1 ·K -1 , much higher than 24.23 kJ·mol -1 ·K -1 in water. With a green part thickness larger than 4.26 mm, the debinding was controlled by diffusion; but with that smaller than 2.36 mm, the debinding was controlled by both dissolution and diffusion.

Research on the overload protection reliability of moulded case circuit-breakers and its test device

This paper analyzed the reliability and put forward the reliability index of overload protection for moulded case circuit breaker. The success rate was adopted as its reliability index of overload protection. Based on the reliability index and the reli- ability level, the reliability examination plan was analyzed and a test device for the overload protection of moulded case cir- cuit-breaker was developed. In the reliability test of overload protection, two power sources were used, which reduced the time of conversion and regulation between two different test currents in the overload protection test, which made the characteristic test more accurate. The test device was designed on the base of a Windows system, which made its operation simple and friendly.

Experimental study on cracking behaviour of moulded gypsum containing two non-parallel overlapping flaws under uniaxial compression

Failure of rock mass that is subjected to compressive loads occurs from initiation, propagation, and linkage of new cracks from preexisting fissures. Our research investigates the cracking behaviour and coalescence process in a brittle material with two non-parallel overlapping flaws using a high-speed camera. The coalescence tensile crack and tensile wing cracks were the first cracks to occur from the preexisting flaws. The initiation stresses of the primary cracks at the two tips of each flaw were simultaneous and decreased with reduced flaw inclination angle. The following types of coalescence cracks were identified between the flaws: primary tensile coalescence crack, tensile crack linkage, shear crack linkage, mixed tensile-shear crack, and indirect crack coalescence. Coalescence through tensile linkage occurred mostly at pre-peak stress. In contrast, coalescence through shear or mixed tensile-shear cracks occurred at higher stress. Overall, this study indicates that the geometry of preexisting flaws affect crack initiation and coalescence behaviour.

Performance of digital patternless freeze-casting sand mould

Digital patternless freeze-casting technology is a new approach for obtaining frozen sand moulds using digital milling technology. The change law of tensile strength and air permeability of frozen sand moulds (100-mesh and 200-mesh silica sand, and zircon sand moulds) under different freezing temperatures and water contents was studied. Results show that with the decrease of freezing temperature and the increase of water contents, the tensile strength and air permeability of the sand moulds are gradually improved. Meanwhile, computed tomography technology was used to characterize the shape and size of the water film between the sand particles mixed with 4wt.% water. The results show that in silica sand moulds, the form of water film is lumpy, and 200-mesh silica sand moulds have more water films and higher proportion of small-sized water films than 100-mesh silica sand moulds, while in zircon sand moulds, the form of water film is membranous. At the same freezing temperature and water content, the tensile strength of zircon sand mould is the highest, and 100-mesh silica sand mould is the lowest. A comparative solidification experiment of A356 aluminum alloy was carried out in frozen sand mould and resin sand mould. The results show that the primary α-Al phase appears in the form of equiaxed and eutectic silicon phase is needle-like in freezing sand mould casting, but the primary α-Al phase grows in the form of dendrites, and the eutectic silicon phase is coarse needle-like in the resin sand mould casting. The difference of microstructure is caused by the different cooling rate. The cooling rate of A356 aluminum alloy in frozen sand mould is higher than that in resin sand mould.

Development tendencies of moulding and core sands

Further development of the technology for making moulding and core sands will be strictly limited by tough requirements due to protection of the natural environment. These tendencies are becoming more and more tense, so that we will reach a point when even processes, that from technological point of view fulfill high requirements of the foundry industry, must be replaced by more ecologically-friendly solutions. Hence, technologies using synthetic resins as binding materials will be limited. This paper presents some predictable development tendencies of moulding and core sands. The increasing role of inorganic substances will be noticed, including silicate binders with significantly improved properties, such as improved knock-out property or higher reclamation strength. Other interesting solutions might also be moulding sands bonded by geo-polymers and phosphate binders or salts and also binders based on degradable biopolymers. These tendencies and the usefulness of these binders are put forward in this paper.

Improvement in collapsibility of ZrO2 ceramic mould for investment casting of TiAl alloys

Investment casting has been widely recognized as the best option in producing TiAl components with key benefits of accuracy,versatility and integrity.The collapsibility of ceramic moulds for investment casting is critical in the manufacturing process of TiAl components due to TiAl's intrinsic brittleness at room temperature.The aim of the present research is to provide a method for production of TiAl components by investment casting in ZrO2 ceramic moulds with improved collapsibility.Slurries prepared with high polymer additions were utilized during the preparation of ceramic moulds.The stress/strain curves obtained from green and baked ceramic moulds demonstrate that the green strength was increased with the application of high polymer,while baked strength decreased,thus the collapsibility of ceramic moulds was improved.It is suggested that this result is related to the burn-out of high polymer which left a lot of cavities.The experimental findings were also verified by the investment casting of "I"-shaped TiAl components.

Physical Properties and Regulating Mechanism of Fluoride-Free and Harmless B_2O_3-Containing Mould Flux

The flux agents in common mould fluxes were fluoride and sodium oxide, which would do great harm to environments. B2O3 was selected as flux. The physical properties of B2O3-containing mould fluxes were studied. The corresponding physical properties of 37. 91% CAO-43.09% SiO2-5% Al2O3-5% MgO-2% Li20-7% B2O3 mould fluxes were as follows： the melting point was 909℃, the flowing temperature was 1 160℃, the viscosity and surface tension at 1300 ℃ were 0. 4 Pa · s and 0.32 N/m respectively, which could meet the demands for certain kinds of steels for mould fluxes in continuous casting.

Solidification microstructure of M2 high speed steel by different casting technologies

The present work investigated the solidification microstructure of AISI M2 high speed steel manufactured by different casting technologies, namely iron mould casting and continuous casting. The results revealed that the as-cast structure of the steel was composed of the iron matrix and the M2C eutectic carbide networks, which were greatly refined in the ingot made by continuous casting process, compared with that by the iron mould casting process. M2C eutectic carbides presented variation in their morphologies and growth characteristics in the ingots by both casting methods. In the ingot by iron mould casting, they have a plate-like morphology and grow anisotropically. However, in the ingot made by continuous casting, the carbides evolved into the fiber-like shape that exhibited little characteristics of anisotropic growth. It was noticed that the fiber-like M2C was much easier to decompose and spheroidize after heated, as a result, the carbides refined remarkably, compared with the case of plate-like carbides in the iron mould casting ingot.

Effect of Traveling Magnetic Field on Mould-Filling Length of the A357 Melt during Casting Thin Walled Plate

In order to improve the mould filling ability, the method for production of thin-walled castings in the travelingmagnetic field was applied. The relationship between magnetic field density and input voltage as well as distancewas investigated, and the mould filling length of A357 melt has been studied. The electromagnetic forces appliedon the melt were also analyzed. The result shows that the mould-filling length of the melt increase rapidly with theincrease of magnetic flux density. The mould filling lengths in gypsum upper mould and magnetic material uppermould were compared from the standpoint of application. It demonstrated that the steel upper mould is superior togypsum mould.

Semi-solid moulding:Competition to cast and machine from forging in making automotive complex components

The very latest technique for impeller manufacture is called semi-solid moulding(SSM).Cummins Turbo Technologies Limited,together with Aluminum Complex Components Inc,developed SSM compressor wheels as a way of achieving cost and durability performance somewhere between that of cast and machined from solid(MFS) aluminium alloy wheels.Experimental results show SSM material has a superior microstructure and mechanical properties over cast and comparable to MFS materials.Component testing including durability testing,using accelerated speed cycle tests,proves SSM compressor wheels emerge as being significantly more durable than cast equivalents and approaching that of MFS impellers.Further challenges for semi-solid processing in manufacture of other complex components and other materials in automotive industry in terms of both cost and durability are also discussed.

Al_2O_3 PARTICLE REINFORCED COPPER MATRIX COMPOSITE USING FOR CONTINUOUS CASTING MOULD

A kind of Cu base composite reinforced by 0 1μm Al 2O 3 particles were prepared by hot pressing and sintering process for steel continuous casting mould. The microstructure and properties were studied. The results show that the Al 2O 3 particle distribution is uniform, and the particles refine the grain size. The tensile fracture is a mixture of quasi cleavage and dimple due to the moderate interface strength. As a result, the composite has better soft resistance and wear resistance than those of Cu and Cu alloy. With increase in super fine Al 2O 3, the density and electric conductivity of the composite decrease, but hardness and strength increase.