CA1093275A - Ingot mold and method of producing same - Google Patents

Ingot mold and method of producing same

Info

Publication number
CA1093275A
CA1093275A CA298,111A CA298111A CA1093275A CA 1093275 A CA1093275 A CA 1093275A CA 298111 A CA298111 A CA 298111A CA 1093275 A CA1093275 A CA 1093275A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
mold
stool
sand
insulating board
casting
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA298,111A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Macy W. Vance
Paul E. Hamill, Jr.
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
USS Engineers and Consultants Inc
Original Assignee
USS Engineers and Consultants Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by USS Engineers and Consultants Inc filed Critical USS Engineers and Consultants Inc
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1093275A publication Critical patent/CA1093275A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B22CASTING; POWDER METALLURGY
    • B22DCASTING OF METALS; CASTING OF OTHER SUBSTANCES BY THE SAME PROCESSES OR DEVICES
    • B22D7/00Casting ingots, e.g. from ferrous metals
    • B22D7/06Ingot moulds or their manufacture
    • B22D7/066Manufacturing, repairing or reinforcing ingot moulds

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Mold Materials And Core Materials (AREA)
  • Molds, Cores, And Manufacturing Methods Thereof (AREA)

Abstract

MANUFACTURE OF INGOT MOLDS

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A process for casting ingot molds wherein a smooth, rigid, thermally insulating board is used to form the as-cast bottom surface of the ingot mold to produce a smooth flat surface which does not require machining and to permit slow cooling and solidification so that a uniform macrostructure and microstructure is effected.

Description

~3Z7S
The present invention relates to the manufacture of ingot molds.
Ingot molds used in the production of steel ingots usually consist of upright cast iron, box-like shells open at one or both ends, and weigh from 0.8 to 1.5 times as much as the ingot cast therein. To close the bottom for casting steel in those molds open at both ends, i.e., either big-end-down open-top or big-end-down bottle-top molds, the mold is placed upright, big end down on a thick cast iron stool, which serves as the bottom closure for the mold cavity. A reasonably close fit between the mold and stool should be assured to prevent leakage of molten steel therebetween. Those molds which are open at one end only, i.e. big-end-up closed bottom molds, are already closed and hence need no mold stool in combination therewith. It is common practice, however, to place a hot-top over the open end of this type mold when steel is cast therein. Here again it is necessary that a reasonably close fit be maintained between the mold and hot-top to prevent leakage of molten steel therebetween.
Ingot molds are usually manufactured in accordance with long established foundry techniques wherein a suitable cavity is formed within a sand mold and cast iron poured into the cavity and allowed to solidiy in the shape thereof. Although the as-sand-cast surface of the resulting mold is suitable for most surfaces, it has been necessary to machine the as sand cast bottom surface of a newly cast big-end-down type mold to provide a smooth, flat surface. This is because the bottom surface of the mold must rest securely against the mold stool during teeming as noted above for big-end-down molds. Even the as-sand-cast upper surface of big-end-up closed bottom molds must also be machined to provide a smooth flat surface to form a good seal with the hot top placed thereon. To avoid confusion hereinafter, these surfaces 10~3275 which must be flat and smooth will be referred to as "big-end surfaces" rather than "bottom surfaces" in the case of big-end-down open and bottle-top molds and "top surfaces" in the case of big-end-up closed bottom molds.
Since such machining operations are of course costly and time-consuming, alternate methods of producing ingot molds having smooth, flat big-end surfaces have been developed. Specifically, chill casting techniques are widely used wherein an iron plate is incorporated into the mold for making ingot molds to form the big-end surface of the ingot mold cast there-against. Since the chill-plate is smoother than the sand mold surface and more resistant to iron erosion, the resulting big-end surface on the ingot mold is sufficiently smooth and flat that no machining is required. This of course works equally well with closed bottom molds as they are usually cast upside down so that the big-end of the opening can be formed on such a chill-plate.
However, it has been found that ingot molds cast on chill-casting stools have a considerably shorter useful life than do molds cast on sand stools. One study has shown that ingot molds cast on sand stools have a 22%
longer life than ingot molds cast on chill casting stools. This difference in mold life is primarily due to the differences in macrostructure and micro-structure between sand-cast surfaces and chill-cast surfaces. The sand-cast surfaces cool more slowly resulting in a more uniform, macrostructure and microstructure, which is less crack-sensitive.
According to the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a cast iron ingot mold having a smooth, flat as-cast big-end surface, comprising casting the ingot mold in a sand mold having a smooth, flat, rigid, thermally insulating board incorporated into the sand mold and providing the surface against which the big-end surface of the resulting ingot mold is formed.

,~ , .i ,~,., lV93275 The invention is further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Figure 1 is a schematic sectional view of a mold as setup to cast an ingot mold according to one embodiment of this invention, Figure 2 is a close-up sectional view of the lower left-hand portion of the cavity shown in Figure 2, and Figure 3 is a prospective view of a rigid board as used in the Figure 1 embodiment.
As already noted, the crux of this invention resides in the use of a rigid insulation board to form the big-end surface of the mold cavity. To this end, the rigidized insulation board can be incorporated into either conventional sand-casting tech-niques and equipment or conventional chill-casting techniques and equipment. Simply stated then the process of this invention involves the casting of an ingot mold in a conventional sand mold having neither sand nor a chill~plate forming the big-end surface of the mold cavity, but rather having a rigidized insulation board.

Obviously, there are numerous forms and techniques by which such an insulation board could be incorporated into a mold to form the big-end surface of the mold cavity. Perhaps the simplest method is to produce a conventional sand mold wherein a large flat insulation board is provided as the stool, and a sand mold placed thereover.

~093Z75 One method we have preferred to use is illustrated in Figures l and
2 and utilizes conventional chill-casting equipment with a separable core barrel and stool. Equally good results can be achieved with an integral stool and core barrel. This first mentioned equipment comprises a chill-cast-ing stool 10 having a shallow cavity 12 in the center thereof. Cavity 12 has two sloped walls 14 and 16. A hollow core barrel 18 having a flange 22 is designed to set into cavity 12 so that sloped wall 24 on flange 22 mates reasonably with the lower sloped wall 16 in cavity 12. This arrangement is provided to assure that core barrel 18 is positioned at the center of chill-casting stool 10 when the mold is assembled for casting. An outer flask 30 having a sand retaining ring 32 is adapted to be set on the periphery of the chill casting stool 10 encircling core barrel 18 at a sufficient distance to form the desired cavity.
To prepare the above equipment for casting an ingot mold, it is first necessary to compact molding sand 36 against the inside surface of flask 30 to shape the outer walls of the intended ingot mold, and to compact molding sand 38 against the outer walls of core barrel 18 to shape the inside wall of the intended ingot mold. When the molding sand 38 is in place, core barrel 18 is placed into the cavity 12 in chill-casting stool 10. According to prior art practice, molding sand 46 is then compacted into the annular space provided between core barrel 18 and surface 14 on stool 10 and then the flask 30 is positioned in place. Contrary thereto, the practice of this invention then requires that a rigidized insulation board 40 be placed over chill-casting stool 10 to form the bottom surface of cavity 42. Rigidized insulation board 40 has an annular configuration so as to completely encircle core barrel 18.
In order to seal board 40 against chill-casting stool 10 to prevent molten metal from getting therebetween, the inside edge of board 40 can be angled _ 5 _ -1~3275 downward to form a lip 44 which mates with wall 14 of cavity 12. Molding sand 46 is then compacted between lip 44 and flange 20 or core barrel 18 to provide a smooth extension from the upper surface of board 40 to core sand 38. Rigid-ized insulation board 40 is of sufficient width so that the outer edge thereof will extend under sand retaining ring 30 to seal the outer edge thereof. Lastly, a flask-stool sealant 48 is placed around the edge of chill-casting stool 10, encircling board 40, and then flask 30, to which ring 32 and sand 36 are attached, is placed thereover to form cavity 42. It should be noted that sealant 48 is not always necessary.
The moderately complicated inside sealing arrangement, i.e. the interplay between lip 44 and molding sand 46, is somewhat necessitated by the specific design of the chill-casting equipment used. Other equipment designs which utilize flat chill-casting stools can employ a more simplified board design. For example, the inside edge thereof may be flat and extend under the core barrel and sealed in much the same manner as the outside edge is sealed under flask 30, as shown.
In addition to the basic mold construction as shown in the drawings as described above, it is of course necessary to provide a basin, runner and gate ~not shown) according to conventional practice through which the mold is cast.
The rigidized insulation board 40 can be made from any insulative material which can be formed into a smooth board which will not deteriorate or erode when contacted by the molten iron during or after casting. For this material we have preferred to use a mixture of aluminosilicate fibers, such as K~OWOOL* or FIBERFRAX* and a colloidal silica blnder. The fibers are first felted from a chopped fiber and binder slurry and compressed to form a board * Trade Mark :

1C1~93Z75 shape by conventional vacuum forming techniques. Thereafter, the form is dried at 220F to remove and provide increased rigidity and strength.
Increased strength may be necessary to support loads caused by the ferro-static head when the ingot mold is cast, as well as provide adequate erosion resistance. This can be accomplished by reimpregnating the dried board with colloidal silica, or by adding inorganic fillets, such as hollow glass spheres or powders, which may also be substituted for fibers to lower material costs.
In addition, mineral wool or calcium silicate fibers may be substituted. We have found that suitable boards are characterized by the following properties:
thickness, 1/4 to 1/2 inch; density, 15 - 30 lb/cu.ft.; thermal conductivity, 1 - 2 Btu-in./sq.ft./F/hr. In addition, the above described materials are quite suitable in that they will not stick to the cast metal, and can be applied to hot as well as cold chill-casting stools.
The above detailed embodiment is of course tailored to be used with the specific chill-casting equipment utilized. It would be obvious therefore that the details would vary somewhat with other types of equipment. For example, when chill casting equipment is not available, the insulative board 40 could consist of a simple flat disk shaped board embedded into the upper surface of a sand stool.
During the investigations attempting to solve the problems discussed above, several different approaches were tested such as the use of insulative sheets and spray coatings. All such tests were considered unsatisfactory.
The use of an insulative board in the production at the laboratory of a 7" x 7" cast iron ingot did result in the production of a smooth surface as well as a macrostructure and microstructure resembling that deslred. As a result of the successful laboratory trial, an initial plant trial was conducted in which three ingot molds ranging in weight from 35,800 lb. to 51,200 lb. were produced 1~093;~75 on insulating boards glued to the chill-casting stool. All three molds had smooth flat bottoms that did not require machining. One of the molds had 59 pours before condemnation which was considerably better than the consumption rate for the mold size. (The other two molds were lost.) As a result of the successful laboratory trial and initial plant trial, eight commercial sized ingot molds (46,440 lb) were produced using a procedure substantially as described above. The boards used were 3/8-inch thick and made of alumino-silicate fibers bonded and rigidized with colloidal silica. Several individual pieces were used and taped together with fiberglass tape but were not attached to the stool. The table below shows the results of that test.

Total No. of Pours Mold No. Bottom Machined Before Scrapping 38 Yes 45 39 No 72 41 No 72 44 No 18 No 54 48 No Mold Lost 49 No 59 Yes 33 In the above test, all of the as-cast bottoms produced were quite smooth as compared to sand-cast surfaces. Mold No. 38 could have been used without machining but was nevertheless machined to remove a very slight ridge at the core seal. Mold No. 50 required machining because of difficulties encountered which were considered unusual. After casting, the boards were easily separated from the casting. In a few places where portions of the 1C1~3Z75 boards did stick to the casting, such portions were easily scraped off with a putty knife. As shown in the table, all molds had good life, except for Mold No. 44. It is believed, however, that this mold may well have failed due to causes other than macrostructural and microstructural defects in the bottom surface. Mold 48 was lost in the mill and could not be traced. At the time these test molds were made, other conventional ingot molds made at the same time with chill-casting techniques were noted and their histories followed.
These other ingot molds were scrapped after a total number of pours ranging from 31 to 54. The over-all life improvement can readily be seen.

Claims (8)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE
INVENTION IN WHICH AN
EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE
IS CLAIMED ARE AS FOLLOWS:-
1. A method of manufacturing a cast iron ingot mold having a smooth, flat as-cast big-end surface, comprising casting the ingot mold in a sand mold having a smooth, flat, rigid, thermally insulating board incorporated into the sand mold and pro-viding the surface against which the big-end surface of the resulting ingot mold is formed.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1 in which said sand mold is formed by placing the insulating board on a mold stool;
placing a core barrel, having a molding sand outer surface, on said stool and placing a molding flask, having a molding sand inner surface, on said stool surrounding said core barrel and spaced therefrom to provide a cavity around said core barrel, the bottom surface of said cavity being defined by said insulating board.
3. A method as claimed in claim 2 in which said molding stool is a sand stool.
4. A method as claimed in claim 2 in which said molding stool is a chill-casting stool.
5. A method as claimed in claim 1 in which said insulating board has a thickness of from 1/4 to 1/2 inch.
6. A method as claimed in claim 1 in which said insulating board has a density of 15 to 30 lb/cu ft. and a thermal conductivity of 1 to 2 Btu-in/sq.ft./°F/hr.
7. A method as claimed in claim 1 in which said insulating board consists of a mixture of a colloidal silica binder and a fibrous material selected from the group consisting of aluminosilicate fibers, mineral wool, and calcium silicate fibers.
8. A method as claimed in claim 7 in which said insulating board is strengthened by the addition of inorganic fillers.
CA298,111A 1977-03-04 1978-03-03 Ingot mold and method of producing same Expired CA1093275A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US76791777A 1977-03-04 1977-03-04
US767,917 1977-03-04

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1093275A true CA1093275A (en) 1981-01-13

Family

ID=25080963

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA298,111A Expired CA1093275A (en) 1977-03-04 1978-03-03 Ingot mold and method of producing same

Country Status (15)

Country Link
JP (1) JPS53137024A (en)
BE (1) BE864565A (en)
BR (1) BR7801256A (en)
CA (1) CA1093275A (en)
DE (1) DE2809282A1 (en)
ES (1) ES467523A1 (en)
FR (1) FR2382294A1 (en)
GB (1) GB1588301A (en)
IN (1) IN148233B (en)
IT (1) IT7867460A0 (en)
LU (1) LU79166A1 (en)
MX (1) MX147989A (en)
NL (1) NL7802317A (en)
SE (1) SE7802339L (en)
ZA (1) ZA781027B (en)

Family Cites Families (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
BE571607A (en) *
DE403344C (en) * 1923-11-18 1924-09-30 Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks Akt Two-part casting mold for the production of steel mill molds
DE437126C (en) * 1924-01-15 1926-11-16 Ludwig Schecke Device for the production of molds for the casting of permanent molds
US1651835A (en) * 1926-05-13 1927-12-06 Valley Mould & Iron Corp Apparatus for casting ingot molds and the like
US3220071A (en) * 1963-01-07 1965-11-30 G E Smith Inc Combination ingot molds and cores and methods of making ingot molds and cores
NL7006555A (en) * 1970-05-04 1971-11-08 Koninklijke Hoogovens En Staal
DE2262434C3 (en) * 1972-12-20 1978-11-09 Nippon Crucible Co., Ltd., Tokio Support plates for block molds for falling steel casting

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
BR7801256A (en) 1978-09-26
FR2382294A1 (en) 1978-09-29
GB1588301A (en) 1981-04-23
NL7802317A (en) 1978-09-06
SE7802339L (en) 1978-09-05
FR2382294B1 (en) 1983-08-19
MX147989A (en) 1983-02-22
LU79166A1 (en) 1979-05-25
IN148233B (en) 1980-12-13
JPS53137024A (en) 1978-11-30
DE2809282A1 (en) 1978-09-07
IT7867460A0 (en) 1978-03-03
ES467523A1 (en) 1979-09-01
BE864565A (en) 1978-09-04
ZA781027B (en) 1979-02-28

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