• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.241-251
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• 2021

7000-series aluminum alloys are noted for their superior strength compared with other Al alloys, and their billets are generally fabricated by direct-chill (DC) casting. Surface defects in a DC-cast aluminum billet are mainly related to exudation and the meniscus freezing phenomenon, which are influenced by alloy compositions, casting speed, and casting temperature. 7000-series aluminum alloys have a wide freezing range during solidification, which makes it easy for casting defects to occur. In this study, we investigated surface defect evolution in casting billets of Al-8Zn-2Mg-2Cu alloy fabricated by a DC casting process. The billets showed "wavy" or "dotted" surfaces. The wavy surface was formed by meniscus freezing at a lower casting speed (200 mm/min) and temperature (655 ℃). In the wavy surface, refined dendritic cells were observed in a concave region due to the constitutional supercooling caused by meniscus freezing. Meanwhile, at a higher casting temperature (675 ℃), the dotted surface was formed by pore formation. In the dotted surfaces in the billet formed at a high casting speed (230 mm/min), an exudation layer was formed by the high metallostatic head pressure. The dotted region and the smooth region had a refined dendritic morphology and a columnar morphology at the exudation layer, respectively. This is attributed to the formation of gas pores in the dotted region.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.163-178
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• 2001

The squeeze infiltration process is potentially of considerable industrial importance. The performance enhancements resulting from incorporation of short alumina fiber into aluminum are well documented. These are particularly significant for certain automobile components. Aluminum matrix composite automotive parts, such as diesel engine pistons or engine blocks are produced using squeeze casting apparatus or pressure die-casting apparatus. But the solidification process gets complicated with manufacturing parameters and the factors for porosity formation have not fully understood yet. In this study the formation of porosity during squeeze infiltration has been studied experimentally to achieve an improved understanding of the squeeze infiltration process for manufacture of short-fiber-reinforced components, particularly the mechanism of porosity formation. Al-based MMCs produced under a range of conditions were examined metallographically and the porosity characterised;a kind of matrix, an initial temperature of melt, and a volume fraction of reinforcement. The densimetry and the microscopic image analysis were done to measure the amount of porosity. A correlation between manufacturing parameters and defects was investigated through these.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.303-313
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• 1991

The Purification mechanism of high purity aluminum was studied through the variation of stirring speed and coolant flow rate in the stirring method. In the stirring method the degree of purification was changed as the following factors;the variation of diffusion boundary layer thickness the variation of growth rate and the solute concentration of the residual melt. The concentration of Fe and Si was decreased as the stirring speed and the radial distance increased. In a high stirring speed of 2000rpm with unidirectional stirring mode, the uniformity of solutes was obtained. On the other hand, the purification of Si was done by the combinations of stirring method, fractional melting and acid leaching. In the case of Si purification, the centrifugal force developed in the melt acted as the significant purification factor. It was possible to obtain the purified 3N grade Si crystal after the complete elimination of residual aluminum by fractional melting and acid leaching.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.71-78
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• 2011

This study aims to investigate the formability of bipolar plates for fuel cell fabricated by vacuum die casting of ALDC 6. Cavity shape of mold is thin walled plate (size: $200mm{\times}200mm{\times}0.8mm$) with a serpentine channel (active area: $50mm{\times}50mm$). Before bipolar plate was made by HPDC, computational filling behavior and solidification was performed by MAGMA soft. The final mold design for location and direction of channel was determined by computational simulation. Also, according to injection speed conditions, simulation result was compared to actual die casting experimental result. When vacuum pressure, injection speed of low and high region is 350 mbar, 0.3 m/s and 2.5 m/s respectively, products had few casting defects. On the other hand, at the same as injection speed, without vacuum pressure, products had many casting defects between end of the channel and overflow.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.27-32
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• 2009

The microstructure of Al-7Si-0.4Mg-1Fe alloy mainly consists of aluminum dendrites, Al-Si eutectics, and $Al_5FeSi$ needles. When Mn was added to the alloy, the substantial amount of $Al_5FeSi$ phase was changed into Al(Mn,Fe)Si, however the needle-like morphology was almost unchanged. Combined additions of Cr or Sr with Mn to the base alloy resulted in rod-like Al(Mn, Fe,Si)Si phase. The tensile properties of as-cast alloys were enhanced by the Mn addition, especially when it was added with Sr. The tensile properties after T6 heat treatment was a little improved with 0.7%Mn addition, but Cr or Sr additions with Mn didn't show any positive effect on the properties of heat-treated alloys.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.246-253
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• 1998

Precision metal mold casting process is a casting method manufacturing mechanical elements with high precision, having heavy/light alloys as casting materials and using permanent mold. To improve dimensional accuracy and the final mechanical properties of the castings, the solidification speed and the cooling rate of the casting should be controlled with the optimum mold cooling system, and moreover, to obtain more accurate control of the whole process interfacial heat transfer characteristic at the mold/casting interface must be studied in advance. In the present study, aluminum alloy casting system with metal mold equipped with electrical heating elements and water cooling system was designed and the temperature histories at points inside the metal mold were measured during the casting process. The heat transfer phenomena at the mold/casting interface was characterized by the heat flux between solidifying casting metal and metal mold, and the heat flux history was obtained using inverse heat conduction method. The effect of mold cooling condition upon the heat flux profile was examined, and the analysis shows that the heat flux value has its maximum at the beginning of the process.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.240-245
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• 1998

In the view point of the environmental conservation and the energy reduction, the recycling of metal scrap is coming as one of the global subjects in the world. In this study, the movement of intermetallics with electromagnetic force in a melt of a scrap of Al-Si-Cu alloy (JIS ADC12), which was widely used in diecasting process, was investigated in order to eliminate the Fe element, which was usually accumulated in a scrap. In this study, we applied electromagnetic method to eliminate Fe element in ADC12 aluminum alloy scrap which contains 1.64wt.% Fe and the effects of electromagnetic force on the particle movement was visualized and confirmed by water modeling and experiment. As a result, the Fe intermetallic compounds are moved to the direction opposite to that of the electromagnetic force as the force applies, thus eliminated from the bulk metal. Therefore, the content of Fe in matrix decreased from 1.64wt.% to 0.45wt.%.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.195-206
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• 1997

AC8A matrix composites reinforced with Ni-aluminide were fabricated by squeeze casting process, and the characteristics and nature of the growth of Ni-aluminide phases at the interface between nickel and aluminurn were investigated. In the as-cast composites, the reaction layer between Ni skeleton and aluminum matrix was found to be $NiAl_3$, regardless of the casting temperatures and the kinds of preforms. During high temperature solution treatment the $NiAl_3$ layer grew and formed new $Ni_2Al_3$ layer. Because of presence of the porosity formed by Kirkendall effect at the interface between $NiAl_3$ and aluminum matrix, the tensile strength of composites was inferior to that of AC8A matrix alloy. However, the composites exhibited superior wear resistance due to the formation Ni-aluminide intermetallic phases. Composite A, of which Ni skeleton was fully transformed into Ni-aluminide, shows better wear resistance than that of composite B which still possessed some unreacted Ni skeleton.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.342-346
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• 2011

A328 alloy is an attractive candidate for recycle-friendly aluminum alloy in the recycling of automotive components. In this study, A328 alloy melt was degassed by ultrasonic vibration and the effect of treatment time on the density, fluidity and mechanical properties was investigated. Experimental results reveal that a constant value of density can be reached after less than 180 seconds of ultrasonic treatment time, but the density decreased when the treatment time was 300 seconds. Ti which was dissolved from the horn during ultrasonic treatment reduced the fluidity of melt. After degassing by ultrasonic vibration for 180 seconds, tensile strength increased from 201MPa to 250MPa, and elongation increased from 2.38% to 3.50%, however, further treatment deteriorated the mechanical properties.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.29-33
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• 2010

The microstructure of Al-5%Mg based alloy mainly consists of aluminum matrix with a small amount of AlMn phase. The addition of Sc or Zn to the base alloy significantly improved the as-cast tensile strength, while the addition of Fe deteriorated both strength and ductility. Although the Al-5%Mg based alloy was not heat-treatable, aging hardening could be observed in the case that Sc or Zn was added to the base alloy. TEM analysis showed that very fine AlSc or AlMgZn precipitates were formed after T6 heat treatment, resulting in enhanced strength. The corrosion resistance measured as corrosion potential was found to decrease a little by adding Zn, whereas other alloying elements were not clearly influential.