Effect of Process Parameters on Porosity in Aluminum Lost Foam Process

Porosity is a main defect in aluminum alloy castings, which is also thought to be severe in aluminum alloy castings produced by lost foam process due to the pyrolysis of the polystyrene foam pattern during pouring. Fundamental experiments were carried out to evaluate the effect of process parameters such as the melt treatment, the cooling rate and the density of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam on porosity in A356.2 bar casting. The effect of melt treatment including degassing and refining was investigated. The effect of cooling rate was also evaluated by changing the mold packing material such as the silica sand, the zircon sand and the steel shots. Gas entrapment due to the turbulent metal flow during mold filling in conventional molding process results in porosity. Mold filling sequence in lost foam process is different from that in conventional molding process. The effect of molten metal flow was estimated by comparing the density of the casting by conventional sodium silicate molding with that by lost foam process. Density measurement was conducted to analyze the extent of porosity in the casting. Source of the porosity in lost foam process can be divided into two factors, i.e. turbulence in molten metal flow and entraining residue or gas from the pattern during pouring.