Influence of process parameters on fluidity of investment-cast AZ91D magnesium alloy

Investment casting is a versatile and precise process, which allows the fabrication of components requiring intricate shapes, the filling of thin sections and the reproduction of fine details. It is also useful for casting magnesium alloy prototypes but little quantitative information is available about the relationships between process parameters and fluidity, which plays an important role in the successful production of castings. In this work, experiments have been performed on AZ91D alloy to determine the influence of various parameters on the filling capacity of a plaster mould using vacuum assistance. The following parameters were examined: section thickness and position of casting in the mould as well as mould and casting temperatures. A simple model was developed for the calculation of the filled length.