LOST FOAM CASTING OF MAGNESIUM ALLOYS

Abstract

The lost foam casting process has been successfully used for making aluminum and cast iron thin walled castings of complex geometries. Little work has been carried out on cast magnesium alloys using the lost foam process. The article describes the research activities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Tennessee Technological University on lost foam casting of magnesium alloys. The work was focused on castings of simple geometries such as plate castings and window castings. The plate castings were designed to investigate the mold filling characteristics of magnesium and aluminum alloys using an infrared camera. The pate castings were then characterized for porosity distribution. The window castings were made to test the castability of the alloys under lost foam conditions. Significant differences between lost foam aluminum casting and lost foam magnesium casting have been observed.