EDITOR'S COMMENT
Indian foundry industry poised for growth
With the Indian companies pursuing increased export targets and seeking a foothold in the die casting market, the deliberations could be the die casting industry is in the pursuit of excellence. The demand on the die casting industry to supply parts ready for use in assembly lines as finished components or sub assemblies is growing. This is bound to give some value enhancement to the industry and promote growth of different skills.
NEWS CORNER
FOMET srl - Auto Chassis International ( FONDERIE LE MANS ) Renault Group
The iron foundry at Le Mans just commissioned is reputed ones of the most modern iron foundry in the world, not just because it is the latest, but also for the level of technical innovation incorporated.
Sharp Rise in Metcoke Prices in Last 6 Months
A recent past report revealed that as China is cutting out production in order to avoid emission of hazardous gases before Olympics, which held in August 2008, prices of metallurgical coke (metcoke) have trebled in the last six months.
Pig Iron export by Public Sector Companies banned
In the recent past, the government has imposed a temporary restriction on export of pig iron by public sector companies like Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL), Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd. (RINL) as well as Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd. (NINL).
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
Cost Estimation and Control
Constant effortsare required on daily/weekly basis to find ways of improving costs. This is particularly important for foundries engaged in export of casting, where the competition is very stiff.
SPECIAL COVERAGE
Estimation of Heat Flux Transients at the Metal-Mould Interface During Solidification
The quality of castings can be greatly improved by solidification modelling. However, for accurate modelling of solidification processes, use of correct boundary conditions is essential. Quantification of the heat transfer boundary conditions (heat flux or heat transfer coefficient) is rendered challenging due to rapid nonlinear changes in the heat flux with variation of surface temperatures. The heat flux transients and the surface temperature during metallurgical processes like casting and quenching can be estimated by inverse heat conduction (IHC) method. In the present study, a simple experimental model and numerical procedures have been developed for obtaining heat flux transients at the metal/mould interface. AL-12Si and Sn-9Zn alloys were cast into the sand moulds with copper chill at the bottom. The thermal history inside the chill was used to assess the heat transfer at the interface by inverse analysis. The IHC model was based on the finite element method (FEM) and the Beck's non-linear estimation technique. Heat flux at the metal/chill interface rapidly increases to a peak value immediately after pouring of the liquid metal. The heat flux decreases to low values thereafter. This was attributed to the transformation of the metal/chill interfacial condition from an initial conforming (liquid metal/chill) to a nonconforming (solid metal/chill) contact.
CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION
57th Indian Foundry Congress was a success in Kolkata
Indian Foundry Community held its premier annual event Indian Foundry Congress (IFC), spread over three days Feb. 13-15, 2009 at Science City, the magnificent venue in the city of Kolkata. Eastern Region of The Institute of Indian Foundrymen (IIF) was responsible for organising the 57th IFC. The gateway of the Southeast Asia became the confluence of the representatives of metal casting and its allied industries, and experts, academicians from professional bodies as well as technical Institutions. The mega event focused on the theme 'Mission - Leadership Through Technology". High profile delegates from the metal industry and student engineers, management professionals, entrepreneurs came together at this mega event to deliberate upon a number of current issues of interest to the industry in particular and the economy in general. VIP's from the industry, academies and government departments/agencies from India and abroad addressed the important technical, commercial and environmental issues and shared their thoughts during the three-day Congress. The ET Businessman of the Year Mr. B. Muthuraman, Managing Director, Tata Steel Ltd. was honoured by conferring IIF Patronship in a Special function during the Congress for his contribution to the metal industry. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Muthuraman analysed the current scenario of manufacturing/engineering industries and gave a few suggestions for the metal industry which should be followed during economic meltdown for the purpose of continuing business and preparation for better future.
TECHNOLOGY/PROCESS REVIEW
No-Bake Furan Resin - High Strength & Eco-Friendly ..... An Introduction and comparison
Furan No-Bake resin is a kind of high strength, environment-friendly - foundry resin, which is polymerised mainly by Furfuryl Alcohol along with Formaldehyde and Carbamide at certain Mole ratio and process parameter, widely used in foundry industry.
Furfuryl Alcohol- the main raw material of furan resin is derived from agricultural products like Corn cob. Bagasse, Cotton haulm etc., and its initial processing is in a pressure vessel and in this process. Furfural is produced which is then hydrogenated to form Furfuryl Alcohol.
Effects of Coating Thickness on the Fluidity of Aluminium Castings by Evaporative Pattern Casting Process
The lost foam technique or expandable pattern casting technique has been applied successfully in making Aluminium, Brass, Bronze, C.I. and steel castings. Failure to evacuate the foam completely results in carbon defects in iron, laps or folds in Aluminium and porosity in both. This paper focuses on the fluidity of liquid aluminium alloy, which was varied by providing two different types of coatings and three different coating thicknesses. It is found that as the coating thickness increased, the fluidity decreased, Coarse size of quartz particles leads to slightly more-fluidity in general, although the effect of particle size on fluidity is not very clear.
Optimum Design of Slot Shape for Preventing the Misrun of an Aluminium Motor Rotor in Die Casting
The optimum design for slot shape of aluminium motor rotor with diameter of 450mm was performed to prevent the misrun in die casting process. In order to do it, the effects of the variables including slot width and slot length on the misrun of the aluminium motor rotor with various core length in die casting process were evaluated using numerical analysis. The critical solidification modulus and slot width for preventing the misrun of the aluminium motor rotor increase with an increase in core length. Based on the results, the design criteria of slot shape for preventing the misrun of aluminium motor rotor with various core length were established.
Dry Sliding Wear Behaviour of Al-17Si and Al-17Si-4.5Cu Cast Alloys
The maicrostructures and dry sliding wear behaviour of Al-17Si and Al-17Si-4.5Cu cast alloys were studied after various melt treatments such as refinement and modification. Results indicate that combined refined and modified Al-17Si-4.5Cu cast alloys have mierostructurcs consisting of uniformly distributed primary silicon, fine eutectic Al-Silicon and fine CuAl2 particles in the interdendritic region. These alloys exhibited better wear resistance in the cast condition compared with the same alloy subjected to only refinement or modification. The improvements in properties observed in the present studies are mainly due to the structural differences between the refined, modified or both refined and modified over just cast Al-Si alloys. This paper attempts to investigate the influence of the microstructural changes in the Al-17Si and Al-17Si-4.5Cu cast alloys by refinement, modification and combined action of both on the dry sliding wear behaviour.
EVENTS WATCH
Hannover Messe 2009
April 20-24, 2009
Hannover, Germany
• Interkama, Factory Automation
• Industrial Building Automation
• Motion, Drive & Automation
• Digital Factory
• Subcontracting
• Energy
• Wind
• Power Plant Technology
• Pipeline Technology, ComVac, Surface Technology, Micro-Technology, Research & Technology etc.
Details are available from : Deutsche Messe, Messegelände,
30521 Hannover, Germany
E-mail : hannovermesse@messe.de
Website : www.hannovermesse.com
Solar 2009
May 8-14, 2009
Buffalo, New York, USA
Details are available from :
E-mail : ases@ases.org
Website : www.ases.org
World Technical Forum 2009
June 1-3, 2009
Brno, Czech Republic
Details are available from : www.wtf2009.cz
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