“HOT TOPICS”

Issue # 4, 2003

Casting Defect: Cavities – Micro Shrinkage

1. Defect code B222-DI-GS (Ductile iron, in green sand)

2. Name: Micro shrinkage, Center line shrinkage, Internal shrinkage, Leakers

3. Description:
Small porosity revealed during cutting or machining operation at the thermal center of
heavier sections. Non-destructive testing such as X-ray and UT may also reveal these
porosities and in some cases during leak testing under pressure. These cavities generally
have irregular surfaces and they are dendritic in nature.

4. Pictures are at the end of this document.

5. Mechanism of defect formation

This defect generally occurs at the last stages of solidification. The shrinkage associated
with austenite precipitation is not compensated by the precipitation of graphite resulting
in porosity. This is a metallurgical shrinkage as opposed to primary liquid shrinkage,
which is primarily a design issue. During the last stages the liquid melt is rich in carbide
forming elements increasing the solubility of carbon, thus reducing the formation of free
graphite, which helps in reducing shrinkage.

6. All possible causes

Ø Design
• Modulus of riser too small compared to the casting section, riser body freezes
even if the riser pipes. When bulk of the expansion occurs in the casting,
expansion pressures can not be relieved by moving metal into the riser, causing
the mold cavity to dilate.
• Intermediate sections –too thin, isolating the heavier section too early
• Too much iron entering the cavity at or near this location super heating the area
and delays solidification
Ø Process
• Carbon Equivalent too low, increasing feed metal requirement.
• Low carbon equivalent also cuts off feed metal supply at thin sections quickly due
to increased formation of austenite (C < 3.55%)
• Pouring temperature too high, keeping metal liquid longer in heavier sections,
increasing segregation
• Pouring temperature too cold, freezing the intermediate section too soon
• Soft mold, causing the mold to dilate during casting solidification
• Low density sand, (silica content less than 85%) slowing down heat extraction
increasing segregation of carbide forming elements
• Low western bentonite in the bond formulation
_______________________________________________________________________
Al Alagarsamy, Citation Corporation, Birmingham, AL
 • Increased amount of segregating elements such as Mn, Cr, Mo, P
• Increased levels of Mg, Ce and other shape active elements
• Increased level of silicon, which increases segregation of carbide formers
• Low level of nucleation of graphite at the end of solidification
• Oxidized charge materials
• Charge material not containing much free graphite
• Too much late inoculation resulting in excessive primary graphite nodules, and
too high carbon content in the melt (large size graphite nodules, depleting
graphite precipitation at the end)
• Superheated melt, having low base melt nucleation

7. Most probable causes

• Too high magnesium and cerium levels (Free Mg above 0.025% to 0.04%
depending on section thickness)
• Too high final silicon (above 2.4% for regular ductile)
• Higher amounts of segregating elements
• Superheated melt (above 2740F)
• Low final carbon or carbon equivalent (C < 3.55% for regular and 3.35% for
SiMO irons)
• High pouring temperatures

8. Process variables that should be controlled to avoid defect

• Final carbon 3.60-3.80 % (3.35-3.50% for Si-Mo irons)
• CE (C+1/3Si) =4.40-4.60% (4.60-4.755 for Si-Mo irons)
• Maintain a hard mold especially around the riser contact
• Maintain least amount of magnesium residual for the section thickness and sulfur
residual that will result in nodular graphite.
• Inoculate with just enough late inoculation to avoid carbides in thin sections
• Maintain adequate western bentonite (at least 50/50 ratio western to southern) and
silica content (at least 85%) in the sand mix.
• Keep the forward segregating elements at a lowest level possible (Cr+Mn+Mo+P
< 0.5% for regular ductile)
• Keep final silicon low (below 2.4% for regular ductile and below 3.9% for SiMo
irons)
• Keep the pouring temperature only high enough to avoid misruns, carbides and
dross. Instead of increasing temperature, gating system could be modified to avoid
the defects mentioned above.

Monitor base iron nucleation potential by testing the chill depth of base iron prior to
tapping. Final iron cooling curves will provide information as to the metallurgical
quality of iron with respect to shrinkage porosity. Any shift in the solidification pattern
at the end of solidification should be investigated.

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Fig.1. This casting has two risers, one larger than the other and the risers feed more than one
cavity also. The smaller riser did not pipe, due to riser being colder and smaller. By making the
riser hotter, the problem was solved.

Shrink at junction of several

sections

Figure 2. Small shrinkage is observed at the junction of several sections.

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 Shrink farther away from riser

Figure 3. Shrinkage in HiSiM0 iron castings opposite to riser connection

Figure 4. The riser is too small for the section thickness where the riser is attached. Riser body
freezes way before the heavy section, resulting in centerline porosity.

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Figure 5. Open shrinkage starting from top of the casting, after the riser top has frozen after
initial piping and expansion

Figure 6. Riser piped for a longer period of time. The riser froze before the casting has solidified
completely, resulting in shrinkage in the casting

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 Skin formed while the
in-gate to the riser was
still open to the
downsprue

Air entered at a hot spot and

rose to the top of the casting

Figure 7. When the in-gate to the riser solidified most of the surface of the casting has solidified
forming a solid skin. At a point just above the riser contact, skin was thin enough to be punctured
by the atmospheric pressure, and air aspirated into the casting. The riser did not pipe in this case,
and most of the liquid contraction is compensated by air entering into the casting.

Castings shown in figures 4 through 7 are poured from the same ladle. We may not able to get
more consistency than this, but the results are so much different. The shrinkage spans the entire
spectrum of gross macro shrinkage, external open shrinkage to micro shrinkage (dispersed). As
the riser design is marginal, slight change in the timing and rate graphite precipitation can affect
the way feeding takes place and hence the resultant shrinkage.