Investigation of the influence of inoculant and casting temperature on fluidity properties in spherical graphitic cast iron casting

The casting method, which is defined as pouring the molten liquid metal into the prepared mold cavity, is one of the most economical and one of the most widely used metal forming methods in which the desired final shape can be fed directly to the liquid metal. Working with liquid metal leads to advantageous casting method, however, it brings some difficulties. One of the common mistakes in casting process is that the liquid metal does not walk completely in the mold cavity and the mold does not fill completely. This error is due to the contact of the liquid metal with the mold surface in the mold cavity, the high heat transfer coefficient of the mold material, and the overcooling and solidification of the liquid metal during liquid movements. In addition, the surface tension of the oxide layer on the liquid metal surface limits the flow. For this reason, the fluidity of the liquid metal is important for robust casting production. The ability of the molten liquid metal or alloy to fill the mold cavity completely and in time through the gating system is called fluency. The fluids of alloys with a certain solidification temperature range are adversely affected by the combination of liquid and solid phases. Alloy properties, mold properties, casting temperature and added alloying elements are influenced by many factors according to casting conditions such as grafting, spheronization, grain thinning. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the grafting quality and fluency properties of casting temperature of GGG60 standard alloy of Spherical Graphite Cast Iron. For this purpose, the effects of casting temperature, different inoculants and different inoculant quantities on sand molds were investigated by using fluency test model with respect to different cross section thicknesses. The flow distance of the liquid metal was determined according to the cross-sectional thickness of the castings made in sand casting under changing casting conditions and compared with FlowCast Casting simulation software. The microstructure analysis of the samples obtained from the castings of different thicknesses of the castings made in all parameters were evaluated and the results were evaluated.