Pohl M, Teichmann F, Müller S (2026)
Publication Language: English
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2026
Book Volume: Volume 52
DOI: 10.1016/j.mtcomm.2026.115126
Open Access Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtcomm.2026.115126
This study investigates additive-free table salt as a sustainable and cost-efficient mould material for gravity casting of AlSi12 alloy, targeting mould volumes and component sizes significantly larger than those reported in previous studies. Salt moulds were fabricated by embedding a 3D-printed expendable wax model in fine-grained NaCl combined with a saturated salt solution, followed by a multi-stage drying and burnout procedure. The salt mould material reached a maximum compressive strength of 3.3 MPa, comparable to the green strength of conventional ceramic moulds. A comparative gravity casting study using AlSi12 at 750 ∘C revealed that salt and sand moulds yield similar ultimate tensile strengths (135 MPa vs. 140 MPa), elongation at fracture, and hardness. The higher thermal conductivity of the salt mould resulted in an approximately doubled cooling rate (12.7 K s−1 vs. 6.2 K s−1), producing a finer microstructure with a reduced Secondary Dendrite Arm Spacing (36.7 µm vs. 44 µm). Additionally, a surface smoothing effect was observed in salt castings, reducing average roughness from Ra=22μm in the wax model to Ra=8μm in the casting. These results demonstrate the feasibility of additive-free table salt for larger-scale aluminium gravity casting with mechanical and microstructural properties comparable to conventional sand casting.
APA:
Pohl, M., Teichmann, F., & Müller, S. (2026). Investigations on the use of salt as a sustainable moulding material for AlSi12 gravity casting. Materials Today Communications, Volume 52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtcomm.2026.115126
MLA:
Pohl, Marco, Fabian Teichmann, and Sebastian Müller. "Investigations on the use of salt as a sustainable moulding material for AlSi12 gravity casting." Materials Today Communications Volume 52 (2026).
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