The effect of cooling plate, mechanical vibration, and grain refinement on the microstructure and hardness of A380 produced by sand mold

ABSTRACT

The mechanical properties of aluminium alloys can be increased by controlling the grain size and morphology of the alloy. In these studies, mechanical vibration, cooling slope plate (CSP), and grain refiner were applied on sand mould casting using A380 alloys. The hardness, and microstructure of the cast samples are investigated. These processes lead to the refinement of grain structures and a decrease in the tendency for dendritic structure formation. The Effect of the solidification time (modulus) on the microstructure is investigated. It was determined that the solidification time varies depending on the section thickness, which affects the SDAS values. It was observed that the lowest SDAS values were in CSP and the highest values were in grain refiners added casting. The lowest hardness value was recorded at CSP casting. Meanwhile, the grain refiner added vibration casting exhibits the highest hardness.

KEYWORDS:

• A380 aluminium casting
• cooling slope plate
• vibrational casting
• grain-refinement
• step mould

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).