Effect of synergistic action of ultrasonic vibration and solidification pressure on tensile properties of vacuum counter-pressure casting aluminum alloy

The effect of synergistic action of ultrasonic vibration and solidification pressure on tensile properties of vacuum counter-pressure casting ZL114 A alloys was studied systemically through testing and analyzing the tensile strength and elongation subjected to different ultrasonic powers and solidification pressures. The results indicate that the synergistic action of ultrasonic vibration and solidification pressure can result in the refinement of grains and improvement of tensile properties. Both the highest tensile strength and elongation of aluminum alloy were obtained under synergistic action of 600 W ultrasonic power and 350 kPa solidification pressure. Moreover, the tensile fracture morphology shows obvious ductile fracture characteristics. When the solidification pressure is lower than 300 kPa, the effect of ultrasonic power on tensile strength and elongation is more obvious, but when the solidification pressure is higher than 300 kPa, the effect of solidification pressure on tensile strength and elongation is greater. Meanwhile, the size and morphology of the eutectic silicon were improved significantly by the ultrasonic vibration and pressurized solidification. The strip and massive eutectic silicon phase are completely converted into small short rod-like and evenly distributed Si phases at the grain boundary of primary α-Al.

Simulation of fuzzy control systems for nonferrous alloy vacuum counter-pressure casting

Through simulation analyses of vacuum counter-pressure casting fuzzy control systems based on MATLAB, fuzzy control systems designed by simulation can track technical route established well. When transmission functions of vacuum counter-pressure casting controlled objects are changed in operation, fuzzy control systems can carry on self-regulation and stabilize quickly, and embody the advantages of fleet response velocity and little adjusting quantity. The design of vacuum counter-pressure casting fuzzy control systems is accelerated and improved greatly by simulation based on MATLAB. Meanwhile, their design is accurate and reliable. Moreover, microstructure and properties of thin-wall aluminum alloy castings are improved effectively by using fuzzy control systems.

Density and solidification feeding model of vacuum counter-pressure cast aluminum alloy under grade-pressuring conditions

The density of vacuum counter-pressure cast aluminum alloy samples under grade-pressuring condition was studied. The effect of grade pressure difference and time on the density of aluminum alloys was discussed, and the solidification feeding model under grade-pressuring condition was established. The results indicate the grade-pressured solidification feeding ability of vacuum counter-pressure casting mainly depends on grade pressure difference and time. With the increase of grade pressure difference, the density of all the aluminum alloy samples increases, and the trend of change in density from the pouring gate to the top location is first decreasing gradually and then increasing. In addition, in obtaining the maximum density, the optimal grade-pressuring time is different for samples with different wall thicknesses, and the solidification time when the solid volume fraction of aluminum alloy reaches about 0.65 appears to be the optimal beginning time for gradepressuring.

Microstructure and properties of vacuum counter-pressure cast aluminum alloy

The microstructure and properties of vacuum counter-pressure cast aluminum alloy were studied. Results indicated that under the condition of vacuum counter-pressure, liquid melts fill mould cavity under the vacuum and crystallize under high pressure which have very good effect on nucleation and solidification feeding. Compared with gravity casting, the microstructure of vacuum counter-pressure cast aluminum alloy is much finer and more uniformly distributed. Mechanical properties of vacuum counter-pressure cast aluminum alloy are improved significantly.

Effect of Solidification Condition on Secondary Dendrite Arm Spacing of the A357 Alloy under Counter-pressure Casting

The effect of counter-pressure casting parameters on secondary dendrite arm spacing （SDAS） of A357 alloy under different process parameters was studied. Quartz sand mould with chill can strongly decrease the SDAS. Reduced SDAS close to the mould bottom because of chilling was obtained. Pressure seems to have no apparent effect on the SDAS. In order to obtain casts with UTS ≥320 MPa, SDAS must be less than 55 μm, which means a local cooling rate VL≥0.23 ℃ /s.

Effect of casting vacuum on thermodynamic and corrosion properties of Fe-based glassy alloy

The effect of casting vacuum on thermodynamic and corrosion properties of Fe61Co7Zr8Mo5W2B17 in shape of cylinder of 3 mm in diameter and ribbon of 20?40μm in thickness and 2?3 mm in width were investigated with X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dilatometer (DIL), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical station. It is found that high casting vacuum can improve the glass forming ability (GFA), the contraction degree during heating, and the pitting resistance of the glassy alloy, which can be ascribed to the fact that the dissolution of tungsten in the melt is improved under the high casting vacuum.

Vacuum assisted high-pressure die casting of AZ91D magnesium alloy at different slow shot speeds

The effects of vacuum assistance on the microstructure and mechanical properties of high-pressure die cast AZ91 D alloy at different slow shot speeds were evaluated. Plate-shaped castings of AZ91 D alloy were carried out on a TOYO BD-350V5 cold chamber die casting machine incorporated with a self-improved TOYO vacuum system. It was found that the vacuum pressure in the die cavity at the beginning of mold filling increases with the increase of slow shot speed, following a cubic polynomial curve, resulting in a decline in the porosity-reduction ability of vacuum assistance with the increase of slow shot speed. The externally solidified crystal（ESC） contents in conventional and vacuum die castings behave similar against the slow shot speed. The tensile properties of vacuum die castings were strongly influenced by the ESC content at relative low slow shot speeds. With the increase of slow shot speed, the influence of the gas porosity level in vacuum die castings would get prominent.

Design and Verification of an Auxiliary System for High Vacuum Die Casting

Vacuum die casting is the optimal method to produce high quality aluminum alloy components.At present,there are still very few systematic studies on vacuum die casting theory and equipment design.On the basis of the existing theories of the vacuum die casting pumping and venting systems,a simplified model is established in this research.The model has an aggregate unit consisted of ＂vacuum pump ＋ buffer tank＂ and a cylindrical container（including the shot sleeve,cavity and exhaust channel）.The theoretical analysis is carried out between the cavity pressure and the pumping time under different volume models.An auxiliary system for high vacuum die casting is designed based on the above analysis.This system is composed of a vacuum control machine and a new vacuum stop valve.The machine has a human-computer control mode with ＂programmable logic controller（PLC） ＋ touch screen＂ and a real-time monitoring function of vacuum degree for buffer tank and die cavity.The vacuum stop valve with the ＂compressed gas ＋ piston rod ＋ labyrinth groove＂ structure can realize the function of whole-process vacuum venting.The new system shows great advantages on vacuuming the cavity with a much faster speed by making tests on an existing die casting mold and a 250 t die casting machine.A die cavity pressure less than 10 kPa can be reached within 0.8 s in the experiment and the porosity of castings can be greatly decreased.The systematic studies on vacuum die casting theory and equipment have a great guiding significance for high vacuum die casting,and can also be applied to other high vacuum forming in related theoretical and practical research.

Rotary bending fatigue behavior of A356 –T6 aluminum alloys by vacuum pressurizing casting

Vacuum pressurizing casting technique, providing better mould filling and inter-dendritic feeding, can reduce the porosity greatly in cast aluminum alloys, and improve the fatigue properties. The rotary bending fatigue properties of A356-T6 alloys prepared by vacuum pressurizing casting were investigated. The S-N curve and limit strength 90 MPa under fatigue life of 107 cycles were obtained. The analyses on the fatigue fractography and microstructure of specimens showed that the fatigue fracture mainly occurs at the positions with casting defects in the subsurface, especially at porosities regions, which attributed to the crack propagation during the fatigue fracture process. Using the empirical crack propagation law of Pairs-Erdogon, the quantitative relationship among the initial crack size, fatigue life and applied stress was established. The fatigue life decreases with an increase in initial crack size. Two constants in the Pairs-Erdogon equation of aluminum alloy A356-T6 were calculated using the experimental data.

Influence of Pulse Steepness on Vacuum Flashover of Casting Epoxy Resin

Research on the pulsed flashover characteristics of vacuum insulation material is significant for the design and manufacture of pulse power devices. In view of the voltage increase rate of the fast pulse （pulse steepness）, the vacuum fiashover characteristics of pure epoxy under different steepnesses is investigated by using a pulse generator with parameters of a rise time of 40 ns and a full width at half maximum of 2.5 μs. Pulses with six levels of steepness were achieved by changing the charging voltage of the generator. Based on the linear equation and electron emission equation, the relationship between the flashover voltage and pulse steepness was fitted. By virtue of the fitted formula, it was possible to predict the flashover voltage under near DC or higher steepness conditions. Based on the electron emission equation, the relationship between the time delay and flashover field was also fitted. Result shows that F-N electron emission dominates the flashover process.

Newly developed vacuum differential pressure casting of thin-walled complicated Al-alloy castings

The newly designed vacuum differential pressure casting (VDPC) unit was introduced, by which the capabilityof the VDPC process to produce thin-walled complicated Al-alloy castings, that are free from oxides, gas pore andshrinkage cavity and thus enhance overall part quality, was studied. Experimental results were compared with those oftraditional gravity pouring and vacuum suction casting. The first series of experiments were focused on investigating thecastability of thin section Al-alloy casting. In the second series of experiments the metallographic evidence, castingstrength and soundness were examined. Finally, case studies of very interesting thin walled complicated casting applicationswere described. The advantages of the described technique have made possible to produce thin walled complicatedAl-alloy casting (up to a section thickness of 1 mm), which is not practical for gravity pouring and vacuum suction casting.

Characterization of A390 aluminum alloy produced at different slow shot speeds using vacuum assisted high pressure die casting

The effects of vacuum assistance on the microstructure and mechanical properties of high pressure die cast A390alloy at different slow shot speeds were evaluated.Plate-shaped specimens of hypereutectic A390aluminum alloy were produced on a TOYO BD?350V5cold chamber die casting machine incorporated with a self-improved TOYO vacuum system.According to the results,the vacuum pressure inside the die cavity increased linearly with the increasing slow shot speed at the beginning of mold filling.Meanwhile,tensile properties of vacuum die castings were deteriorated by the porosity content.In addition,the average primary silicon size decreased from23to14μm when the slow shot speed increased from0.05to0.2m/s,which has a binary functional relationship with the slow shot speed.After heat treatment,microstructural morphologies revealed that needle-shaped and thin-flaked eutectic silicon particles became rounded while Al2Cu dissolved intoα(Al)matrix.Furthermore,the fractography revealed that the fracture mechanism has evolved from brittle transgranular fracture to a fracture mode with many dimples after heat treatment.

Surface composites fabricated by vacuum infiltration casting technique

Alumina （Al2O3） particles reinforced copper matrix surface composites were fabricated on the bronze substrate using the vacuum infiltration casting technique. Three cases were obtained in the vacuum infiltration casting technique： no infiltration, partial infiltration and full infiltration （the thickness of preforms do not exceed 3.5mm）. The reason of no infiltration is that the vacuum degree is not enough so that the force acting on the liquid metal is lower than the resistance due to the surface tension. Partial infiltration is because of somewhat lower vacuum degree and pouring temperature. Full desired infiltration is on account of suitable infiltration casting conditions, such as vacuum degree, pouring temperature, grain size and preheating temperature of the preform. The most important factor of affecting formation of surface composites is the vacuum degree, then pouring temperature and particle size. The infiltration mechanism was discussed on the bases of different processing conditions. The surface composite up to 3.5 mm in thickness with uniformly distributed Al2O3 particles could be fabricated via the vacuum infiltration casting technique.

Effect of depressurizing speed on mold filling behavior and entrainment of oxide film in vacuum suction casting of A356 alloy

The effect of depressurizing speed on mold filling behavior and entrainment of oxide film of A356 alloy was studied. Themold filling behavior and velocity fields were recorded by water simulation with particle image velocimetry. The results show thatthe gate velocity first increased dramatically, then changed with the depressurizing speed: the gate velocity increased slowly atrelatively high depressurizing speed; at reasonable depressurizing speed, the gate velocity kept unchanged; while at lowerdepressurizing speed, the gate velocity decreased firstly and then kept unchanged. High gate velocity results in melt falling backunder gravity at higher speed. The falling velocity is the main factor of oxide film entrainment in vacuum suction casting. The designcriterion of depressurizing rate was deduced, and the A356 alloy castings were poured to test the formula. The four-point bend testand Weibull probability plots were applied to assessing the fracture mechanisms of the as-cast A356 alloy. The results illuminate amethod on designing suitable depressurizing speed for mold filling in vacuum suction casting.

Effect of Injection Velocity on Structure Part Characteristic in A50 Die Casting Process with High Vacuum System

When diecasting large and thin Mg alloy parts,material defects occur,which include porosity,nonuniform mechanical properties,irregular surfaces,and incomplete filling.To resolve these problems,it is necessary to have uniform injection velocities and temperatures as well as control the melt.This study investigated the feasibility of producing large and thin components using a die caster by attaching a high vacuum system.In particular,the effects of injection velocity on surface quality and the mechanical properties of the products were investigated.Hence,an injection velocity scheme and a die structure capable of casting in a vacuum were proposed.As a result,it was found that the critical low injection velocity was 0.2 m/s to produce large thin Mg alloy structures having good mechanical properties.

Structure and Performance of Fe-N_x-C Catalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction Prepared by Vacuum Casting Method and the Second Pyrolysis

Affordable non-precious metal（NPM） catalysts played a vital role in the wide application of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells（PEMFC）. In current work, a facile vacuum casting reacting method based on vacuum casting was introduced to prepare Fe-N_x-C oxygen reduction reaction（ORR） catalysts with high efficient in acid medium. The catalysts were prepared with ammonium ferrous sulfate hexahydrate（AFS） and 1,10-phenanthroline monohydrate utilizing homemade mesoporous silica template. The heat treatment and its influence on structure and performance were systematically evaluated to achieve superior ORR performance and some clues were found. And 850 ℃ was found to be the best temperature for the first and second pyrolysis. The linear sweep voltammetry（LSV） results showed that there were only 18 mV slightly negative shifts of half-wave potential（E_（1/2）） of the optimal catalyst（749 mV） compared with the commercial Pt/C（20 μg·Pt·cm^-2）. Besides, I850 R also showed better electrochemical stability and methanol-tolerance than that of Pt/C. All evidences proved that our vacuum casting reacting strategy and heat treatment process were prospective for the future R＆D of high performance Fe-N_x-C ORR catalysts.

Microstructure characteristics and thermodynamic properties of A357-SiCp/A357 layered composites prepared by semi-solid vacuum stirring suction casting

A357-SiCp/A357 layered composites were prepared using a semi-solid vacuum stirring suction casting method.The microstructures,mechanical properties,and thermal conductivities of the composites fabricated under different suction casting processes were compared.Additionally,the microstructural evolution characteristics and performance enhancement mechanism of the A357-SiCp/A357 layered composites were discussed.The results demonstrate that suction casting at 610°C with a low solid phase ratio can significantly enhance the material density and reduce the agglomeration of SiCp.The A357-SiC_(p)/A357 interface is clear and straight with good bonding.With an increase in the suction casting temperature,the bending resistance and thermal conductivity of the A357-SiC_(p)/A357 layered composites exhibit a trend of significantly increase at first and then slowly decrease owing to casting defects,interface bonding,and SiCp distribution.Compared with SiCp/A357 composites,the bending strength,deflection,and thermal conductivity of the A357-SiCp/A357 layered composites increase from 257 MPa,1.07 mm,and 155.72 W·(m·K)^(-1) to 298 MPa,2.1 mm,and 169.86 W·(m·K)^(-1),respectively.This study provides a reference for improving the rheological casting of aluminum matrix layered composites.

Fractal model for evaluating heat transfer of high temperature porous corundum shell in vacuum investment casting

Under vacuum, heat transfer in porous corundum shell of investment casting depends on the characteristics of the solid materials and the spatial arrangement of solids and pores. In this study, we present a modified fractal approach to model the pore structure of corundum shell and to describe its influence on the thermal conductivity. We assumed that there is no heat convection in the shell. A sectioned view of porous corundum shell was studied and used to describe the geometric structure and to calculate the fractal dimension d. Based on the fractal dimension d, we obtained the relationship between volumetric solid content and pore arrangement in different measure scales. A heat transfer model was thus established using a network of resistors in which we applied an equivalent approach to calculate the effective thermal conductivity of real porous corundum shell that include the effects of heat conduction and heat radiation of solid. From the obtained results we discuss these effects on the effective thermal conductivity including the scale of measurement, the structure of pore and the temperature. At last these results were compared with other empirical model, which computed by assuming even porosity in which effect of pore structure was not being considered. Though the thermal conductivity calculated essentially in agreement with that obtained from empirical model, model used in this study is more close to the real heat transfer process.

Vacuum-sealed casting process under pressure

A new casting method, the vacuum-sealed mold casting under pressure, has been developed, and thin wall iron castings with high precision and smooth surface have been produced successfully with this casting method. The experimental results show that the liquid iron has a very excellent filling ability because a high negative pressure is formed in the mold cavity during filling process. The vacuum-sealed mold under pressure has very high compressive strength greater than 650 kPa, which is 3-4 times as high as that of the molds produced by high-pressure molding process or vacuum-sealed molding process.

Effect of some parameters of formation on surface graphite-bronze composite layer prepared by vacuum infiltration casting technique

Surface composite up to 3.0 mm in thickness with compact microstructure was fabricated successfully via vacuum infiltration casting technique on the bronze substrate under the optimum experimental conditions: the vacuum degree of -0.08 MPa, pouring temperature of 1220℃, grain size of 0.20-0.24 mm, preheating temperature of 180℃. The preform was mainly composed of graphite particles and binder NJB (self-fabricated binder). The vacuum degree, pouring temperature, preheating temperature and grain size during infiltration casting play an important role on the process of forming the surface composite. The results show that three cases are obtained in the vacuum infiltration casting technique: no infiltration, partial infiltration and full infiltration. The main reason of no infiltration is that the vacuum degree is not enough so that the force acting on the liquid metal is lower than the resistance due to the surface tension and the pouring temperature is somewhat low. Partial infiltration is because of somewhat lower vacuum degree and pouring temperature. Full desired infiltration is on account of suitable infiltration casting conditions, such as vacuum degree, pouring temperature, grain size and preheating temperature. The influencing effect of vacuum degree is most obvious for the formation of surface composite, then pouring temperature and particle size. The infiltration mechanism is discussed on the bases of the different processing conditions.