ARRANGEMENT OF AN INGATE SYSTEM WITH FEEDING RESERVOIR FOR FEEDING CASTINGS, AND A METHOD OF MAKING SUCH A SYSTEM

Abstract: In an arrangement of an ingate system with feeding reservoir for feeding castings, preferably in moulds with pouring from the bottom (ascending casting), with which ingate system at least a feeding reservoir is connected, said ingate system being connected to one or a number of mould cavities, the main new feature is that at least one feeding reservoir (7) is provided constituting a widened part of a duct (4) or a part of a duct in the ingate system (1), and that a partition (6) consisting of a gauze screen (6) or equivalent is provided separating the feeding reservoir (7) and the duct (4).

Description: ARRANGEMENT OF AN INGATE SYSTEM WITH FEEDING RESERVOIR FOR FEEDING CASTINGS. AND A METHOD OF MAKING SUCH A SYSTEM TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to an arrangement of an ingate system with feeding reservoir for feeding castings, said arrangement being of the kind set forth in the preamble of claim 1. BACKGROUND ART It is commonly known that metals, both in the liquid and the solid state, when cooled undergo a reduction in vol¬ ume, a so-called thermal contraction. In casting moulds, in which a non-uniform heat distribution reigns in the mould cavity after the pouring, and in which for this reason all parts of the casting do not solidify at the same time, this causes the parts of the casting solidi¬ fying last to give off liquid metal to compensate for the contraction of the parts of the casting having soli¬ dified earlier, leading to faults in the casting, commonly called "shrinkage holes" appearing in the form of depres¬ sions in the surface of the casting or cavities (macro¬ scopic or microscopic holes) within the casting. In order to avoid these casting faults, the skilled person can have recourse to a series of expedients, of which the most common is the use of feeding reservoirs, i.e. cavi¬ ties in the mould being filled with metal during the pouring and having such dimensions that the metal in them solidifies later than the parts of the casting soli¬ difying last, being connected to the latter through ducts having a relatively large cross-sectional area, thus being able to post-feed these parts with liquid metal to compensate for the contraction. Such post-feeding reservoirs are mainly known in two forms, viz. as feeders or risers, i.e. substantially cylindrical cavities leading from the duct connecting them to the casting to the upper surface of the mould, or in the form of internal or closed cavities in the mould, so-called "blind feeders" or "shrinkage knobs" placed in the immediate vicinity of the part of the cast¬ ing to be post-fed. Compared to the latter embodiment, the former presents the advantage that the highest metal- lostatic pressure at the feeding location, i.e. the pres- sure from the superjacent metal column, to a high degree assists the feeding by pressing the feeding metal through the connecting duct into the casting, in contrast to which the pressure in the latter embodiment diminishes during the feeding process. On the other hand, the latter embo- diment presents the advantage of normally producing a higher yield of metal in the casting process, i.e. a lesser quantity of metal to be separated from the casting after the casting process for subsequent re-melting (re¬ circulation) , which also reduces the energy used for melting. When risers or "shrinkage knobs" connected to the mould cavity proper are used, they are conventionally filled with melt having been cooled during the pouring process, which is especially the case with bottom pouring. For this reason, these cavities constituting the post-feeding reservoirs must be made sufficiently large to ensure that - in spite of the cooling - liquid melt is still present in the reservoir for post-feeding when the casting solidifies. The result of this can be that, when using certain alloys or when producing critical castings, a yield of approx. 50% can be achieved, i.e. that the post- -feeders and the ingate system weigh the same as the cast- ing to be produced. The amount of material thus being necessary to melt in addition to what is used for the desired casting itself constitutes an energy loss, in¬ creasing the cost of the casting process and at the same time necessitating a higher melting capacity for the foundry equipment. Some of these disadvantages can be avoided by constructing and using the ingate system as a post-feeding means, to this end comprising post-feeding cavities. In this manner, a post-feeding reservoir is obtained that is heated by the melt on the latter's passage to the mould cavity. Optimally, this post-feeding reservoir must be constructed to have the least possible heat loss, so that the least possible quantity of melt is used for heating the reser- voir and maintaining it hot so as to maintain the melt in it in the liquid state. The least possible heat loss is i.a. achieved by constructing the reservoir with the least possible surface area per unit of heat. Further, the heat loss is minimized during the post-feeding process by placing the reservoir close to the mould cavity. The total result of this is that such post-feeding reservoirs, considering the heat loss, are optimally constructed as cavities constituting a large widened part of the ingate system immediately upstream of the inlet to the mould cavity. This will, however, result in the disadvantage, to be explained in more detail below, that oxide and slag cannot be prevented from entering the mould cavity, because the flow of the melt becomes inhomogeneous by passing through the parts of the ingate system consti- tuting the post-feeding reservoir, widened parts of the ingate system or the ducts creating turbulence etc. Oxides and slags being entrained by the melt and transported into the mould cavity produce faults in the casting. In order to avoid oxidation and that oxides and slags having been deposited on the duct wall are entrained in the melt in the ingate system, it is of substantial im¬ portance that the ingate system is constructed so as to provide a filling process as calm as possible, and in¬ cluding mainly laminar flows without turbulences in the ingate system, especially with metal alloys forming noxi¬ ous oxide compounds. Further, at the same time it should be avoided that lowered pressure arises in the ingate duct. This is ensured by constructing the ingate system with gradual transitions for the cross-sectional area of the ducts, including that Reynold's number is maintained at a low value for the ducts in the ingate system. As Rey¬ nolds number i.a. depends on the flow-through velocity through the duct and the latter's hydraulic radius, and that the latter becomes a minimum for a given cross-sec¬ tional area when the wetted circumference of the cross- sectional area is greatest, this condition indicates that flat ducts are to be preferred to round ducts. This includes the desirability of having a large cross-sec¬ tional area in the duct or ducts, so as to make it pos¬ sible to fill the mould quickly with the melt. Further, flat ducts have proved advantageous when casting easily oxidized alloys, as oxides will be deposited on the duct walls before they reach the mould cavity or cavities. This is particularly pronounced when using sand moulds. In addition to this the duct must be con¬ structed in such a manner that low pressure does not arise in it, as this can draw gases out from the mould material and into the melt, in which they can cause oxi- dation and casting faults, which can especially occur with porous moulds, such as sand moulds. Thus, within the prior art, it is necessary to make a choice between post-feeding reservoirs in the ingate system and laminar flows in the ducts in the ingate sys¬ tem, or to make a compromise between these two, which compromise reduces both the efficacy of the post-feeding reservoir and the possibility of avoiding turbulence in the ducts of the ingate system. If the main emphasis is placed on the post-feeding reser¬ voir in the ingate system, the latter should be construct¬ ed optimally with the least possible surface per unit volume to reduce the heat loss. This causes the wetted circumference per unit of cross-section to be small and hence Reynolds number to be large for the duct section in which the reservoir is placed, particularly if the latter is not completely filled, and hence the wetted circumference is small. This means that the post-feeding reservoir should optimally be constructed so as to achieve the largest possible Reynolds number for the duct part, in which the reservoir is centered, so as to reduce the heat loss. If, on the contrary, the main emphasis is placed on the least possible turbulence in the ducts of the ingate system and the capture of oxides and slags, the ducts should be constructed flat so as to produce a large heat loss but a small Reynolds number. Thus, if castings are to be produced with materials that are easily oxidized whilst forming noxious oxide com¬ pounds, it is necessary within the prior art to accept high costs and low yields in order to avoid oxidation. This is particularly the case for aluminium and magnesium alloys. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION It is the object of the invention to provide a feeding reservoir in the ingate system that does not present the disadvantages of the prior art referred to above, and which in addition to this provides an advantageous effect by attenuating a hydraulic pouring surge when the mould cavity is completely filled. According to the invention, this is achieved by the fea- tures set forth in the characterizing part of claim l or in claim 8. Thus, when a permeable wall or, as indicated in claim 2, a gauze screen is provided between the feeding reservoir and the duct or ducts in the ingate system, it becomes possible to construct the duct or ducts optimally in consideration of flow conditions and static pressure conditions, because the gauze screen mainly acts as a wall in the duct, thus making it possible to construct the latter in consideration of the hydraulic radius so as to maintain Reynolds number at a low value. As long as a uniform pressure reigns on both sides of the gauze screen, the latter will, due to the resistance it offers against penetration by the melt, act as an ordinary wall in the duct system. As the gauze screen acts as a duct wall, i.e. a part of the wetted circumference, it is possible to fill the feeding reservoir slowly without increasing the forma¬ tion of oxides and slags likely to be entrained by the melt (unchanged Reynolds number) . This slow filling is advantageous, both with regard to attenuating pouring surges and with regard to heating the reservoir. When static or dynamic pressure differences, especially over-pressures, occur in the duct system, the gauze screen will function to equalize this by melt penetrating in through the gauze screen to the feeding reservoir. This will particularly be the case when a hydraulic pouring surge occurs during the filling of the mould cavity, because in this case, the melt will be pressed through the gauze screen, so that a part of the energy in the pouring surge is consumed by the braking effect through the gauze screen. Thus, the invention makes it possible to optimalize the ingate system to a high yield (small residue of cast material to be removed from the casting) and high quality (effective post-feeding and small residue of oxides and slags in the casting) . This is made possible because the ducts and the post-feeding reservoir or reservoirs can be constructed optimally without counter-acting each other's optimal construction. Additional advantages of the invention will be evident from the dependent claims and the following detailed description of the invention with reference to the draw¬ ing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawing: Figure 1 shows a front view of the ingate system according to the invention, Figure 2 shows side views of the ingate system according to the invention in various degrees of filling, Figure 3 shows a top view in cross-section of the down- sprue according to the invention with feeding reservoir, gauze screen and downsprue, Figure 4 in cross-section and at an enlarged scale shows the downsprue with an insulating layer around the feeding reservoir shown in Figure 3 , Figure 4a is a cross-section of the downsprue at an en¬ larged scale, in which the gauze screen surrounds the downsprue, Figure 4b is a cross-section of the downsprue at an en- larged scale, in which the gauze screen forms the down¬ sprue within the feeding reservoir, Figure 5 shows an example of pouring when using an ingate system according to the invention as viewed in section through a mould, Figure 6 shows a string-mould plant, in which the ingate system according to the invention can be used, and serves to illustrate the process. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Figure 1 shows an ingate system 1 consisting of a pouring cup 2, a melt runner 3, a downsprue 4 and an ingate 5. In this ingate system, a melt runner 3 is placed down- stream of the pouring cup in order to ensure that the melt will not be poured directly down into the downsprue 4, so that the melt will arrive in a calm state at the entrance to the downsprue 4, in the drawing being shown extending vertically. Then, the melt flows from the down¬ sprue top 4a to the downsprue bottom 4b. In the embodiment shown, the downsprue 4 is shaped like a flat duct which, as will be seen from Figures 3 and 4, converges downward¬ ly. The flat-duct shape of the downsprue 4 ensures a small hydraulic radius according to the formula: A r = P, in which A means the cross-sectional area, P means the wetted circumference. This hydraulic radius enters into the computation of Reynolds number according to the formula: Vm R = μ in which V m means average flow velocity of the liquid, r means the hydraulic radius, μ means dynamic viscosity. Thus, the flat shape contributes to provide a small Rey- nolds number, because in a flat duct, the wetted circum¬ ference is largest relative to the cross-sectional area. Thus, the inlet velocity V m may be increased for a cor¬ responding cross-sectional area relative to a round inlet, so that a small Reynolds number is maintained. It is advantageous to keep the Reynolds number small, as this number indicates the transition from laminary flow (small number) to turbulent flow (large number) . With this flat shape, the flow in the downsprue 4 can take place mainly in a laminar fashion without turbulence. The shape of the downsprue 4, converging downwardly to¬ wards the bottom 4b, ensures that low pressure does not arise in the top 4a of the downsprue 4, especially during the initial phase of the pouring of the melt, as a cor- rectly converging shape ensures the same static pressure at the top 4a as at the bottom 4b according to Bernoulli's equation: v 2 p τr- + — + h = const. 2g gp or V-,2 Pi v 2 z P2 + — + h j _ = + — + h 2 = const. 2g gp 2g gp in which v means flow velocity of liquid, g means the acceleration of gravity, p means static pressure, p means specific gravity of the liquid, h means geodetic height, X^ means top, X 2 means bottom. A non-convergent downsprue 4 would cause the "pull" from the melt column to provide a lower pressure at the top 4a than at the bottom 4b, as will also be evident from Bernoulli's equation when the velocity v is the same and the heights h are different, this especially being the case in the initial phase of the pouring of the melt, there being no back pressure from melt in the mould cavity 15 capable of acting in the opposite direction through the ingate system 1. Thus, with this converging shape of the downsprue 4, commonly known by persons skilled within this art, it is possible to ensure uniform pressure throughout the downsprue 4 , when the latter is shaped in consideration of Bernoulli's equations, so that the velo¬ cities v and the heights h are different, while the pres- sure p is the same. The laminar flows are ensured by at the same time providing such a geometrical shape that Rey¬ nolds number is held at a low value. According to the invention, one side of the downsprue 4 is in this case provided with a gauze screen 6 separating a feeding reservoir 7 from the downsprue 4 proper. The gauze screen 6 is permeable to the melt, but offers resis¬ tance against such penetration. When, in the initial phase of the pouring, a uniform pressure is being built up in the downsprue 4, this pressure also reigning in the feeding reservoir 7, the gauze screen 6 will, because of its resistance to flow through it, act in the manner of an ordinary duct wall. For this reason, the melt flows in the downsprue 4 proper and does not to any significant extent penetrate into the feeding reservoir 7. The feeding reservoir 7 is, however, heated, at least with radiant heat from the melt flowing through the downsprue 4. As the melt in the mould cavity 15 gradually builds up a back pressure in the downsprue bottom 4b, the pressure in the latter will rise. The gauze screen 6 will, however, attempt to equalize the pressure difference, because melt penetrates in through the gauze screen 6 to the feeding reservoir 7, in which a process of slow filling is initiated. This will continue, the gauze screen 6 still, however, offering resistance against penetration by the melt. When after this, the mould cavity 15 is being filled with melt right up to the top, the liquid flow through the downsprue 4 ceases, and the full pressure from the melt being poured is now applied via the gauze screen 6 to the reservoir 7, which after this is filled quickly. After this, the pouring in the pouring station, indicated with B in Figure 6, ceases, and if the mould is a mould 14 in a string of moulds, it can pass on in the direction of the arrow A to the cooling zone C. In the cooling zone C, the casting contracts during soli- dification in the mould cavity 15 resulting in a fall of pressure in the ingate system 1, causing melt to be drawn from the heating reservoir 7 to fill the cavities produced by the contraction in the mould cavity 15. Figure 5 shows a mould with a bottom inlet comprising an inlet duct 5a and an ingate 5b, using an ingate system 1 according to the invention as described. When melt is poured from a pouring device 17 into the pouring cup 2, the melt will flow on via the ingate system 1 to the mould cavity 15, through which the melt will rise. In Figure 5, the mould cavity 15 is shown as terminated upwardly by a riser 16. The riser 16 is, however, not necessary for the invention. The mould 14 can be a mould in a string of moulds having been produced in a moulding machine 10, in which mould sand from a supply reservoir 11 is directed into a mould¬ ing space, in which patterns 13a, 13b on a hydraulic piston 12 and a counter-pressure plate 13c, respectively, are pressed against each other so as to form a mould 14 , the latter then being pushed out into the string of moulds by the hydraulic piston 12 so as to form a part of the string of moulds. The mould is pushed further to a pouring station B, in which the mould cavity is filled with melt. After this, the mould 14 is moved further in the direction of the arrow A to a cooling section C, in which the melt solidifies and the casting contracts. The course of events in the ingate system 1 during this casting process, e.g. in a moulding plant as shown in Figure 6, is shown in Figure 2 with Figures 2b-2e. Of these, Figure 2b shows the initial phase of the pouring, during which the ingate system has just been filled up, and Figure 2c shows the situation, in which the back pressure from the melt in the mould cavity 15 causes melt to penetrate into the feeding reservoir 7. When the hydraulic pouring surge occurs as a result of the mould cavity being completely filled, the feeding reservoir is substantially completely filled as shown in Figure 2d. When after this the casting contracts, melt will be drawn from the feeding reservoir 7 as indicated in Figure 2e. When moulds are being produced in a moulding plant of the kind shown in Figure 6, the feeding reservoir 7 and the gauze screen 6 can advantageously be manufactured and inserted in the form of a pre-fabricated integrated unit, possibly being insulated with an insulating tube 8, a so-called Iso-tube. Iso-tubes are insulating tubes being used in foundry practice to reduce the heat loss from feeding reservoirs. The tubes are produced in many dif¬ ferent diameters and lengths. The material used can be "Keruld" and consists of ceramic fibres. In Denmark, the tubes are manufactured by the firm Keramax A/S, but are internationally better known as being supplied by the firm FOSECO. The gauze screen can e.g. be produced from a material consisting of quartz glass in thin fibres, assembled to form a web with square holes bonded with a resin. This web is produced in three qualities, viz. soft, semi-rigid and rigid. The web being sold in the West under the name Firam can be procured by the meter with a width of 900 mm. Suppliers are the firm NOVACAST by Rudolf Silen and the firm Edstraco, and a corresponding product is marketed by the firm SENSANA. The gauze screen may, of course, also be manufactured from other materials that are heat-resistant, e.g. ordi¬ nary glass-fibre web. The permeable wall may be in other forms than a gauze screen; it may e.g. be in the form of a perforated plate, a grate, a sieve or screen etc., e.g. perforations in an Iso-tube. The shape of the duct, in which the feeding reservoir 7 and the gauze screen 6 are situated, may, of course, differ from that shown. It can e.g. be a more or less horizontal channel or duct, in which the gauze screen 6 constitutes the upper side. The downsprue 4 may, of course, also be a duct constituting the inlet in a top- ingate system. Further, the downsprue 4 and the feeding reservoir 7 as such may also be shaped differently, but Reynolds number should be taken into consideration when necessary with regard to the type of flow with a given alloy, and also Bernoulli's equation, when low pressure in the duct system is to be avoided. Figure 4a shows an embodiment in which the gauze screen 6 surrounds the downsprue 4. With this arrangement, one side of the gauze screen 6 functions as a permeable wall, while its remaining sides function to strengthen the duct. With this arrangement, the duct 4, 5, 5a and 5b may be in the form of pre-fabricated hollow-profile ele- ments to be inserted as single units or integrated with the feeding reservoir prior to insertion, or also as¬ sembled from two parts each inserted in a respective mould 14. An especially advantageous construction with pre-fabri¬ cated ducts 4 can be achieved when the latter are inserted in the feeding reservoir 7, and in the latter or parts thereof constitute the duct walls or duct units in the manner indicated in Figure 4b. This construction makes it i.a. possible to construct the reservoir 7 with a spherical shape and to let the inlet/downsprue 4 extend transversely through the reser¬ voir whilst maintaining a small Reynolds number with the advantages provided thereby, at the same time as the reservoir 7 has a small surface area and hence a low heat loss due to the spherical or cylindrical shape. Further, in this case, all the duct walls are heated by the reservoir 7, and solidification at the walls during the feeding process is avoided. When the feeding reservoir 7 and the gauze screen 6 are constructed in the form of an integrated unit, it can advantageously be prefabricated and inserted during the making of the mould 14. Further, the feeding reservoir 7 can be provided with means for maintaining the pressure and/or for keeping the feeding reservoir 7 under pressure, also when it leaves a pouring station, and such pressure-generating means may e.g. be provided in the manner indicated in applicant's patent application WO 95/18689.

Claims: P A T E N T C L A I M S: 1. Arrangement of an ingate system with feeding reser¬ voir for feeding castings, preferably in moulds with pouring from the bottom (ascending casting) , with which ingate system at least a feeding reservoir is connected, said ingate system being connected to one or a number of mould cavities, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that at least one feeding reservoir (7) is provided constituting a widened part of a duct or a part of a duct in the ingate sytem (1) , and that a partition (6) is provided separating the feeding reservoir (7) on the duct (4) in a permeable manner. 2. Arrangement of an ingate system according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the permeable wall is constructed in the form of a mesh or a gauze screen. 3. Arrangement of an ingate system according to claim 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the permeable wall of the mesh or the gauze screen (6) is provided in a duct side in a downsprue (4) , and that the feeding reservoir (7) extends substantially along the downsprue. 4. Arrangement of an ingate system according to claim 1, 2 or 3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the feeding reservoir is thermally insulated with an insulating mate¬ rial (8) , especially Iso-tube material, on one side or the sides facing away from the permeable wall or the mesh or the gauze screen (6) . 5. Arrangement of an ingate system according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the pouring ducts (4,5) are insulated, at least on the parts of same extending from the beginning of the feeding res¬ ervoir (7) to the mould cavity (15) . 6. Arrangement of an ingate system according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the feeding reservoir is provided with means to apply pressure to the feeding reservoir (7) and at least to maintain such pressure after melt having been poured into the ingate system. 7. Arrangement of an ingate system according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the permeable wall or the mesh or gauze screen (6) is provided as a part of a prefabricated duct unit (4-6) , said duct unit constituting at least one wall-side part, especially in the form of a hollow profile or parts of a hollow profile constituting the duct walls. 8. Arrangement of an ingate system according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the feeding reservoir (7) with the permeable wall or the mesh or gauze screen (6) is constructed in the form of a prefabricated unit, and that the latter is inserted into the mould during the making of the mould. 9. Method of making an ingate system with feeding res¬ ervoir for feeding castings, preferably in moulds with pouring from the bottom (ascending casting) , in which at least a feeding reservoir is connected to or is to be connected to the ingate system, said ingate system being connected to one or a number of mould cavities, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that at least one feeding reservoir (7) is or is being provided constituting a widened part of a duct or a duct part in the ingate system (1) , whereby one or a number of permeable walls or meshes or gauze screens (6) , permeable to melt, is/are placed in the surfaces of the feeding reservoir (7) that would constitute duct walls in the absence of the reservoir. 10. Method according to claim 9, c h a r a c t e r¬ i z e d in that all or at least two duct walls of at least a part of a duct is/are constructed in the desired form as a prefabricated profile, especially a hollow profile, and that this profile is placed in such a manner that it forms a duct through the feeding reservoir, pos¬ sibly by co-operating with an oppositely facing profile part or side part of the duct.

Inventors: ANDERSEN UFFE, ANDERSEN, UFFE
Applicants: ANDERSEN UFFE, GEORG FISCHER DISA AS, ANDERSEN, UFFE, GEORG FISCHER DISA A/S
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B22C9
IPC codes: B22C9