Development of a method for assessing erosive wear damage on dies used in aluminium casting

Abstract

Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) eprints@whiterose.ac.uk https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ Reuse Unless indicated otherwise, fulltext items are protected by copyright with all rights reserved. The copyright exception in section 29 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 allows the making of a single copy solely for the purpose of non-commercial research or private study within the limits of fair dealing. The publisher or other rights-holder may allow further reproduction and re-use of this version -refer to the White Rose Research Online record for this item. Where records identify the publisher as the copyright holder, users can verify any specific terms of use on the publisher's website. TakedownIf you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing eprints@whiterose.ac.uk including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. Very few test methods exist to study the damage mechanisms and for trialling new materials/coatings. Most studies have involved either casting actual components or placing material specimens in a die casting machine so that they are impacted by the aluminium. This is very time consuming and expensive.In this work a laboratory test was developed specifically to study the erosion effects of the aluminium particles. A mounting frame was utilised to hold both flat and cylindrical specimens made from H13 steel (typically used for die manufacture). The frame was placed in a shot blaster which was used to fire aluminium balls (3mm diameter -based on aluminium droplet size calculations) at the specimens. Different velocities were used and the flow was pulsed to mimic successive castings being made.Flat specimens were tested at different angles and cylindrical specimens were tested central to the flow of aluminium and in an eccentric position to cover a range of possible aluminium/die impact scenarios. Optical microscopy and roughness measurements were used to characterise the wear on the specimens. Wear rates were also determined. Behaviour was compared with data from the literature where available. Wear damage was also compared with worn dies. High speed videoing was also used to study the impact behaviour of the aluminium balls.It was concluded that the test method was a suitable approach to use in identifying potential solutions that could extend die life. In future work the effects of temperature and application of coatings will be explored.

Use of Duplex PVD Coatings to Increase the Life of Moulds and Cores for die Casting of Aluminium Alloys in the Automotive Industry

“…The wear of tools and moulds for pressure casting of metals occurs particularly due to thermal fatigue and abrasive, erosive, and corrosive action of molten metal on the functional surface of the moulds. This results in changes in surface morphology and sticking of melt to the mould [8]. A potential solution aimed at delaying degradation of the mould surface is based on surface treatment of those parts, which come into contact with the melt aluminium.…”

Review on corrosion resistance of mild steels in liquid aluminum

“…In the past few decades, many researchers [5,[12][13][14][15][16] have investigated the corrosion behavior of mild steels in liquid aluminum. Previous studies [17][18][19][20] have shown that the Fe matrix can react with liquid aluminum to form the Fe-Al intermetallic compounds (IMCs).…”

Design of a Test Rig for the Characterization of Thermal Fatigue and Soldering Resistance of the Surfaces of Tool Steels for High‐Pressure Die‐Casting Dies

“…Complex shapes of casted parts and high production rates often involve difficulties in standardizing casting quality; this is commonly related to the severe thermomechanical loading and the corrosive wear conditions the die is subjected to . Several mechanisms are involved in die wear: metallization due to corrosion of steel by the molten aluminum alloy; washout, a mixed corrosive and erosive mechanism acting when the velocity of the liquid alloy on the die surface exceeds 0.4 m s −1 ; and finally all those mechanisms due to thermal fatigue that create interconnected crack networks . Although these mechanisms are different, they frequently interact with each other.…”