Multi-objective optimization of western bentonite (Al2H2Na2O13Si4)-blended green sand casting process parameters to improve mould quality

Abstract

The quality of the mould in the green sand casting process plays a vital role in achieving good quality castings. In this research work, the mould properties permeability and hardness are focused on to improve the quality of the mould. These properties are improved by optimizing the process parameters such as degrees of ramming, mould wall thickness, and weight percentage of western bentonite using Taguchi-based grey relational analysis. The optimal level of these process parameters is experimentally validated by producing castings in a modern jobbing foundry. In the validation experiments, the moulds are produced with nominal hardness (92) and the mould wall thickness is reduced by creating cavities for storage of gases at a distance of 30 mm from the mould cavity. An interesting result found is that the nominal mould hardness and reduced wall thickness improve the quality of the mould by increasing the permeability value from 80 to 120. The improved mould quality reduces the mould-related casting rejection rate in pressure plate casting from 40% to 30%.