Effect of Gravity/ Vibration/ Centrifugal Process on Mechanical Properties of an Al-Si Alloy

On this paper, a study that evaluates the influence of some variables on the mechanical properties of the vertical centrifugal casting is made. It is emphasized the fact that the centrifugal effect from vertical centrifugal casting brings special features on mechanical properties. It has been observed that the centrifugal effect may substantially increase, in some alloys, the rupture strength, rupture strain, and Young modulus, as compared to the gravity casting technique. When compared to gravity casting, the centrifugal casting process, besides the centrifugal force (pressure effect), always has an inherent associated vibration during the casting. In this study, as an attempt to isolate the vibration effect from the overall centrifugal effect, tests on castings obtained by vibrating gravity casting process are made. A comparison between castings obtained by centrifugal casting technique, vibrating casting technique and gravity casting technique is made in order to fully understand the features that allow the improvement on mechanical properties during the vertical centrifugal casting technique. An analysis of the most important effects, on both mechanical properties and on some metallurgical features is made.