EP1162016A1 - Apparatus for casting a directionally solidified article - Google Patents
Apparatus for casting a directionally solidified article Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP1162016A1 EP1162016A1 EP00110334A EP00110334A EP1162016A1 EP 1162016 A1 EP1162016 A1 EP 1162016A1 EP 00110334 A EP00110334 A EP 00110334A EP 00110334 A EP00110334 A EP 00110334A EP 1162016 A1 EP1162016 A1 EP 1162016A1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- cooling chamber
- casting furnace
- cooling
- casting
- chamber
- 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.)
- Granted
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Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B22—CASTING; POWDER METALLURGY
- B22D—CASTING OF METALS; CASTING OF OTHER SUBSTANCES BY THE SAME PROCESSES OR DEVICES
- B22D27/00—Treating the metal in the mould while it is molten or ductile ; Pressure or vacuum casting
- B22D27/04—Influencing the temperature of the metal, e.g. by heating or cooling the mould
- B22D27/045—Directionally solidified castings
Definitions
- the invention relates to an apparatus for casting a directionally solidified article.
- the directional solidification process is a version of investment casting in which a cavity resembling the desired finished piece is defined by a ceramic shell mould.
- the mould is placed on a cooling surface, preheated to a desired temperature in a high temperature environment, filled with a liquid alloy, and withdrawn from the high temperature environment into a lower temperature environment (defined by a vacuum or liquid coolant or cooling by other means) at a specific rate so as to induce solidification of the liquid alloy in a directional fashion, starting at the cooling plate.
- a casting furnace is provided according to the preamble of claim 1 characterised in that the bottom portion of the cooling chamber has a base which is larger than the upper portion of the cooling chamber.
- One advantage of this new arrangement is that radiation coming from the heating chamber would be reflected downwards into the depths of the cooling chamber.
- the result of the new form of the cooling chamber is therefore an improved cooling of the solidifying article.
- the positive downward taper in at least one part of the cooling chamber is preferred between 1% and 50%.
- Another advantage is that due to the new shape, the surface of the upper portion of the cooling chamber remains clean of metal vapour deposits because of the lack of line-of-sight visibility to the metal vapour coming from the hot zone with the result of a better cooling efficiency and therefore a better thermal gradient across the liquid solid front.
- the surface of the cooling chamber might be purposefully blackened and/or roughened to increase its ability to absorb thermal radiation.
- a further advantage of the new arrangement of the cooling chamber is that the bottom plate is not an integral part of the cooling chamber but is for reasons of cleaning removable. In case of shell leakage or failure the alloy will be collected at the bottom of the cooling chamber due to the new form. The form avoids the contact of the leaked alloy with the walls of the cooling chamber and avoids at the same time a decreased cooling efficiency.
- the present invention relates an apparatus of manufacturing a single crystal or a directionally solidified article using a casting furnace as seen in figure 1, 2 and 3.
- Figure 1 shows a casting furnace 1 comprising a heating chamber 2 and a cooling chamber 3.
- the heating chamber 2 includes heating elements 2a. Both the heating chamber 2 and the cooling chamber 3 are separated by a baffle 4 to avoid radiation coming from the heating chamber 3 to the cooling chamber 2.
- the baffle 4 could possibly be water-cooled.
- the cooling chamber 3 comprises an upper portion 3b, a bottom portion 3c, cooling elements 3a within a wall 3d and a bottom plate 3e.
- the shell mould 5 placed within the heating chamber 2 will be filled with a liquid alloy 6a through a feed opening 7 at the top of the heating chamber 2.
- the shell mould 5 is in the heating chamber 2 in a position which is shown in the figures with a dotted line.
- After filling the shell mould 5 it is withdrawn continuously at a predetermined rate from the heating chamber 2 to the cooling chamber 3 through an aperture 9 in the baffle 4.
- the direction of withdrawal 8 is indicated with an arrow.
- the solidified alloy 6b is found at the lower portion of the shell mould 5, which already reached the cold zone.
- the solidification front 10 grows from the bottom of the shell mould 5 to the top in opposite direction of the withdrawal direction 8.
- the described casting process takes place in a vacuum atmosphere or an atmosphere of inert gas such as He, Ar or combination thereof.
- the cooling chamber 3 comprises cooling elements 3d using water as a cooling medium within the walls 3e of the cooling chamber 3.
- the upper portion 3b of the cooling chamber 3 is open to the baffle 4 and the heating chamber 2.
- the cooling of the shell mould 5 within the cooling chamber 3 takes place by thermal radiation to the walls 3d.
- the cooling chamber 3 is formed with the bottom portion 3c having a greater base than the upper portion 3b.
- the cooling chamber 3 has a positive downward taper.
- the preferred embodiment according to the invention the taper is 1% up to 50%.
- the cooling chamber 3 has a bottom portion 3c which is greater than the upper portion 3b, but is formed with a curved profile. Even a similar profile as figure 3 with an increased taper relative to the bottom portion is possible.
- Figure 2 shows a casting furnace 1 comprising a heating chamber 2 and a cooling chamber 3 similar to the casting furnace of figure 1. But in difference to figure 1 the cooling chamber 3 has the truncated cone only in the upper portion 3b of the cooling chamber 3.
- the cooling elements 3a are in this embodiment not included in the walls 3d but only attached to the wall 3d of the cooling chamber 3. As a cooling medium within the cooling elements 3a there could be used any fluid cooling medium.
- One advantage of this new arrangement is that radiation 11 coming from the heating chamber 2 would be reflected downwards into the depths of the cooling chamber 3 rather than being reflected back at that portion of the shell mould just inside the cooling zone.
- this effect is shown with the arrows for the radiation 11 coming from the heating chamber 2 through the aperture 9 in the baffle 4.
- the radiation 11 coming from the heating chamber 2 is due to the 3 dimensional form of the casting furnace 1 around the casting furnace 1 shown in the figures 1 to 3 as dotted lines. This is valid not only for the radiation 11 coming from the heating chamber 2 but also from the shell mould 5 itself.
- the result of the new form of the cooling chamber 3 is therefore an improved cooling of the solidifying article.
- one problem is always that condensation of deposits from vapour species coming from the hot zone onto the walls of the cooling chamber 3 occurs, e.g. graphite from the heaters, metallic gas from alloy evaporated from the liquid alloy being solidified, SiO, SiO 2 and other metallic oxides volatilized from the shell mould.
- These deposits form substantially only in that portion of the cold zone where there is a direct line-of-sight visibility to the hot zone, where the vapour phases exist in equilibrium.
- the vapour phases condense to solid immediately upon coming into contact with a cold surface, hence only those portions with line-of-sight visibility to the hot zone can directly be contacted by vapour coming from the hot zone.
- a further advantage of the positive downward taper of the cooling chamber 3, and especially the new form according to figure 2 or 3, is that it removes the line-of-sight visibility of the upper-most portion of the cold zone and allow better absorption of thermal radiation directly onto the surface of the cooling chamber. In this way the surface remains clean. It might be purposefully blackened and/or roughened to increase its ability to absorb thermal radiation. The lack of deposits on this critical portion of the cold zone will also allow operation of the furnace with no down time for cleaning deposits leading to reduced costs in both production time and service maintenance.
- a further advantage of the new arrangement of the cooling chamber is that the bottom plate 3e is not an integral part of the cooling chamber 3 but will be a separate piece fitting tightly onto the bottom portion 3c of the cooling chamber 3.
- the alloy 12 will be collected at the bottom of the cooling chamber 3 due to the new form.
- the form avoids therefore the contact of the leaked alloy with the walls of the cooling chamber, which would lead as well to a undesired decreased cooling efficiency.
- a starter section for producing a specific crystallographic orientation of the article when starting the solidification.
- a base plate 13 at the bottom of the shell mould 5.
- the base plate 13 can be cooled in addition.
- a withdrawal mechanism 14 to allow the withdrawal of the shell mould 5 from the bottom of the casting furnace 1.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Crystals, And After-Treatments Of Crystals (AREA)
Abstract
Description
- Fig. 1
- is a first embodiment of a casting furnace according to the invention,
- Fig. 2
- is a second embodiment of a casting furnace according to the invention and
- Fig. 3
- is a third embodiment of a casting furnace according to the invention.
- 1
- Casting furnace
- 2
- Heating chamber
- 2a
- Heating elements
- 3
- Cooling chamber
- 3a
- Cooling Elements
- 3b
- Upper portion of cooling
chamber 3 - 3c
- Bottom portion of cooling
chamber 3 - 3d
- Walls of cooling
chamber 3 - 3e
- Bottom plate of cooling
chamber 3 - 4
- Baffle
- 5
- Shell mould
- 6a
- Liquid alloy
- 6b
- Solidified alloy
- 7
- Feed opening
- 8
- Direction of withdrawal
- 9
- Aperture
- 10
- Solidification front
- 11
- Radiation
- 12
- Collected alloy within cooling
chamber 3 - 13
- Base plate of
shell mould 5 - 14
- Withdrawal mechanism for
shell mould 5
Claims (11)
- Casting furnace (1) for producing a single crystal or a directionally solidified article comprising an upper heating chamber (2), a lower cooling chamber (3), the cooling chamber (3) comprising cooling elements (3a), an upper portion (3b), a bottom portion (3c), walls (3d) and a bottom plate (3e), and a shell mould (5) to be moved from the heating to the cooling chamber (2,3) during the casting of the article,
characterised in that
the bottom portion (3c) of the cooling chamber (3) has a base which is larger than the upper portion (3b) of the cooling chamber (3). - Casting furnace (1) of claim 1,
characterised in that
the cooling chamber (3) is shaped partially or in a whole as truncated cone with its bottom portion (3c) having a base which is larger than the upper portion (3b). - Casting furnace (1) of claim 2,
characterised in that
the truncated cone has a taper of 1% up to 50 % in at least one portion of the cooling chamber (3). - Casting furnace (1) of claim 1,
characterised in that
the walls (3d) of the cooling chamber (3) are shaped curved with its bottom portion (3c) having a base which is larger than the upper portion (3b) or with an increased taper relative to the bottom portion. - Casting furnace (1) of one of the claims 1 to 4,
characterised in that
the bottom plate (3e) of the cooling chamber (3) is removable. - Casting furnace (1) of one the claims 1 to 4,
characterised in that
the walls of the cooling chamber (3) are blackened and/or roughened. - Casting furnace (1) of one the claims 1 to 4,
characterised in that
a baffle (4) with an aperture (9) therein separates the heating chamber (2) and the cooling chamber (3). - Casting furnace (1) of one the claims 1 to 4,
characterised in that
the cooling chamber (3) is cooled by any fluid coolant, the cooling elements (3a) arranged in or around the walls (3d) of the cooling chamber (3). - Casting furnace (1) of one the claims 1 to 4,
characterised in that
at the bottom of the shell mould (5) is a provided a starter section for producing a specific crystallographic orientation of the article. - Casting furnace (1) of one the claims 1 to 4,
characterised in that
there is a base plate (13) at the shell mould (5) which is possible to cool. - Casting furnace (1) of one the claims 1 to 4,
characterised in that
there is provided a withdrawal mechanism (14) connected from the bottom of the casting furnace (1) with the shell mould (5) to withdraw the shell mould (5) during casting.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP20000110334 EP1162016B1 (en) | 2000-05-13 | 2000-05-13 | Apparatus for casting a directionally solidified article |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP20000110334 EP1162016B1 (en) | 2000-05-13 | 2000-05-13 | Apparatus for casting a directionally solidified article |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP1162016A1 true EP1162016A1 (en) | 2001-12-12 |
EP1162016B1 EP1162016B1 (en) | 2004-07-21 |
Family
ID=8168717
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP20000110334 Expired - Lifetime EP1162016B1 (en) | 2000-05-13 | 2000-05-13 | Apparatus for casting a directionally solidified article |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP1162016B1 (en) |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP1321208A2 (en) * | 2001-12-21 | 2003-06-25 | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. | Method and apparatus for directionally solidified casting |
US6896030B2 (en) | 2003-07-30 | 2005-05-24 | Howmet Corporation | Directional solidification method and apparatus |
CN109371457A (en) * | 2018-10-10 | 2019-02-22 | 深圳市万泽中南研究院有限公司 | The device for directionally solidifying and manufacturing equipment of single crystal casting |
Citations (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3532155A (en) * | 1967-12-05 | 1970-10-06 | Martin Metals Co | Process for producing directionally solidified castings |
US3667533A (en) * | 1970-04-28 | 1972-06-06 | United Aircraft Corp | Making directionally solidified castings |
US3690367A (en) * | 1968-07-05 | 1972-09-12 | Anadite Inc | Apparatus for the restructuring of metals |
US3841384A (en) * | 1973-02-21 | 1974-10-15 | Howmet Corp | Method and apparatus for melting and casing metal |
EP0749790A1 (en) * | 1995-06-20 | 1996-12-27 | Abb Research Ltd. | Process for casting a directionally solidified article and apparatus for carrying out this process |
WO1999012679A1 (en) * | 1997-09-12 | 1999-03-18 | General Electric Company | Method and apparatus for producing directionally solidified castings |
-
2000
- 2000-05-13 EP EP20000110334 patent/EP1162016B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Patent Citations (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3532155A (en) * | 1967-12-05 | 1970-10-06 | Martin Metals Co | Process for producing directionally solidified castings |
US3690367A (en) * | 1968-07-05 | 1972-09-12 | Anadite Inc | Apparatus for the restructuring of metals |
US3667533A (en) * | 1970-04-28 | 1972-06-06 | United Aircraft Corp | Making directionally solidified castings |
US3841384A (en) * | 1973-02-21 | 1974-10-15 | Howmet Corp | Method and apparatus for melting and casing metal |
EP0749790A1 (en) * | 1995-06-20 | 1996-12-27 | Abb Research Ltd. | Process for casting a directionally solidified article and apparatus for carrying out this process |
WO1999012679A1 (en) * | 1997-09-12 | 1999-03-18 | General Electric Company | Method and apparatus for producing directionally solidified castings |
Cited By (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP1321208A2 (en) * | 2001-12-21 | 2003-06-25 | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. | Method and apparatus for directionally solidified casting |
EP1321208A3 (en) * | 2001-12-21 | 2003-12-03 | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. | Method and apparatus for directionally solidified casting |
US6868893B2 (en) | 2001-12-21 | 2005-03-22 | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. | Method and apparatus for directionally solidified casting |
US6896030B2 (en) | 2003-07-30 | 2005-05-24 | Howmet Corporation | Directional solidification method and apparatus |
CN109371457A (en) * | 2018-10-10 | 2019-02-22 | 深圳市万泽中南研究院有限公司 | The device for directionally solidifying and manufacturing equipment of single crystal casting |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP1162016B1 (en) | 2004-07-21 |
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