A Novel Approach of Optimum Time Interval Estimation for Al-7.5Si/Al-18Si Liquid–Liquid Bimetal Casting in Sand and Metallic Moulds

Abstract

This work describes a novel approach for Al-7.5Si/Al-18Si liquid–liquid bimetal casting in sand and metallic moulds. The aim of the work is to facilitate and develop a simple procedure to produce an Al-7.5Si/Al-18Si bimetallic material with a smooth gradient interface structure. The procedure involves the theoretical calculation of total solidification time (TST) of the first liquid metal (M1), pouring the liquid metal (M1), and allowing it to solidify; then, before complete solidification, the second liquid metal (M2) is introduced into the mould. This novel approach has been proven to produce Al-7.5Si/Al-18Si bimetal materials using liquid–liquid casting. The optimum time interval of Al-7.5Si/Al-18Si bimetal casting with modulus of cast Mc ≤ 1 was estimated based on subtracting 5–15 s or 1–5 s from TST of M1 for sand and metallic moulds, respectively. Future work will involve determining the appropriate time interval range for castings having modulus ≥ 1 using the current approach.