Effect of melt superheat on maximum nuclei density in A356 alloy

The macro-micro modeling, in its present form, does not include the effect of melt super-heat. In this work, identical castings of sand, permanent mold, and lost foam processes were produced by pouring aluminum alloy A356 at 700, 750, 800, 850, and 900 °C. Grain size increased with pouring temperatures to different levels in the three processes. Cooling rates decreased with increasing pouring temperatures in sand and lost foam castings. Simulated cooling rates agreed closely with experimental values. The grain size-cooling rate relationship agreed well with published data. Maximum nuclei density, n0, varied with the casting process and pouring temperatures.