Evaluation of Compactibility and Shear Strength of Sand-Less Casting Mould for Sand Casting Process

Abstract

AbstractThe sand casting process is used in foundries to cast various ferrous and non-ferrous castings. Silica sand is the main mould ingredient in green sand mould casting process. The silica sand used in foundries is obtained from rivers by river sand mining which affects nearby environment and decreases the availability day by day. Therefore, in the present investigation, an attempt has been made to replace silica sand with crushed stone powder. The crushed stone powder is a waste material from stone crusher plant. The sand-less casting mould made from crushed stone powder is prepared. The compactibility and shear strength of the sand-less mould is evaluated and compared with commercially available silica sand mould. The effect of moister and bentonite content on mould compactibility and shear strength is determined. A comparative study between commercial silica sand mould and sand-less mould is also evaluated to understand the feasibility of sand-less mould for green sand casting process. The results revealed that with the increase in moisture percentage, the compactibility and shear strength of sand-less mould increase. However, the compactibility decreases with the increase in bentonite percentage. The optimum compactibility and shear strength of sand-less mould made from crushed stone powder is 55% and 0.52 kg/cm2, respectively.KeywordsCrushed stone powderShare strengthCompactibilityGreen sand mouldSand-less mould