DEPARTMENT OF METALLURGY AND MATERIALS

UNIVERSITAS INDONESIA

I. Objectives
To understand the properties of sand moulding and
the relationship between properties of the prepared
sand and sand moulds that includes:
1. Size and distribution of sand grain.
2. Water content or additives contents inside
sand mould.
3. The relationship between permeability, shear
strength, compressive strength in correlation
with water, clay, and additives contents.
4. Sand moulding flowability.
5. Characteristic differences of green sand (wet
sand), dry sand, and dry sand without heated
(holding sand).
II. Theory
The main function of mould in metal casting process
is to provide a shape, dimension, and also surface
characteristic on the cast product. Sand mould is still
used by foundry industry due to the advantages of
using sand mould, as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.

It is easy to obtain and low cost.

It is reusable.
It has a sufficient strength.
It can be used to produce a large part (more
than 50 kilos) and complex shape.
5. It has a refractory characteristic and good
chemical resistance.
But, sand mould also have some limitations such as:
1.
2.
3.
4.

High porosity can be occur in the product.

The surface of product is not good.
Low dimension tolerance.
Low production rate.

The interface between molten metal with metal mould

and sand mould could be seen from the figure.

PRELIMINARY REPORT
SAND MOULDING PRACTICE
From the figure it is known that sand mould has the
advantage in the cooling rate control compared with
conventional metal mould. The cooling rate of metal
mould is faster and it cause some losses to the cast
product.
Physical Properties of Sand Mould
The physical properties of sand mould would greatly
affect to the quality of resulted cast product. Sand
mould to be made are expected to have following
properties:
1. Strength = mould able to withstand the
weight and pressure of molten metal to be
poured into the mould and they do not
collapse when it is moved.
2. Permeability = mould should be easily to
passing the gas away from inside the mould
and the gas which is dissolved in the molten
metal, thus casting defects due to gases can
be reduced or avoided.
3. Flowability = sand able to occupy spaces
inside the mould well.
4. Suitable sand distribution = related to size
and distribution of sand grain in forming
moulds in order to get desired permeability
and good surface properties (smooth surface
and high dimensional accuracy).
5. Adhesive = sand properties that attached to
the mould, thus the mould is not easily
collapsed or detached from the cope and
drag wall before pouring process.
6. Cohesive = it is expected the mechanical
strength of the sand mould becomes better.
Mechanical strength associated with these
properties are as follows:
o Wet strength due to water content.
o Dry strength due to strength without
water content.
o Thermal strength that means a
strength ability to withstand with
molten metal thermal expansion.
o Chemical strength that means not
easily reacted with molten metal.
o High thermal strength.
7. Collapsibility = sand is capable of collapsing
or may be easily destroyed from the mould
(especially for core sand), it is needed in
order to easily reclaimed and reusable.
8. Low expansion coefficient = in order to avoid
excessive expansion during pouring molten
metal.
Type of Sand Mould

Figure 1 Interface between molten metal with

metal mould and sand mould

Based on the type of sand mould, sand which can be

used for mould can be divided into some groups:
1. Natural sand, e.g. dunes or beach sand.

ANDARADHI NARARYA
NPM: 1206291992
2. Synthetic sand, e.g. silica sand contain 95%
SiO2.
3. Other type of sand, e.g. zircon sand, olivine
sand, chromite sand.
Moreover, a sand mould also can be divided based
on the sand quality, such as:
1. Low-grade sand which is contains a lot of
impurities. Usually a natural sand.
2. High-grade sand which is contains low
impurities. This sand type is widely used for
mould in metal casting process, such as:
Silica Sand (SiO2)
o It is a synthetic sand contain 95%
SiO2.
o It is widely used due to
availability and low cost.
Zircon Sand (ZrO2.SiO2)
o There are colored and colorless.
o Usually red-yellowish or brown
color.
o Source from pure Zirconium.
o It has high strength at high
temperature.
o It has corrosion resistance.
Olivine Sand (2MgO2.SiO2)
o Low thermal expansion.
Chromite Sand (Fe2O4.Cr2O4)
o Low thermal expansion.
o High thermal conductivity.
o It has good refractory.
Shape and Distribution of Sand
The shape of sand grains would be affect against the
flowability, permeability, and mechanical properties of
sand and its mould. Based on the shape, sand is
divided into four types:

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Sand Mould Materials
To make a sand mould, it is required several materials
as follows: sand as the main raw material, binder,
water, and additives.
1. Sand as the main raw materials.
2. Binder bentonite is usually used as binder.
Bentonite plasticity would be increase if
contact with water thus it capable to bonding
sand grains.
3. Water it needs to activate the function of
bentonite to bonding sand grains.
4. Additives a chemical compound which is
added in order to improve properties of
mould. Selection of additives must be
considered carefully to obtain effective
functions. Additives materials are as follows:
Reducing agents it is added to
improve the surface of cast part. e.g.
coal dust; coal dust will fulfill the
cavities of the mould thus makes the
permeability reduced. Coal dust will
prevent the formation of silicate or
ferrous oxide as result of molten
metal with sand reaction.
Fibrous agents it reduces the
roughness in cast part and
increasing collapsibility of mould. e.g.
sawdust or asbestos.
Coating agents it coats the mould
surface cavity to make the surface
smooth thus the defect would be
reduced.
Figure below is shown the effect of bentonite and
water composition against sand mould properties.

Figure 2 Several types of sand configurations

1. Round it has small comparison ratio of

surface area and volume so it is only needs a
bit of binder to obtain good mechanical
properties.
2. Sub-angular it has lower permeability
compared with round shaped, but it has
higher strength.
3. Angular it has larger surface area thus it
needs much more binder. This shape is easily
to crack because of thermal or mechanical
force.
4. Irregular this shape is easily to crack.

Figure 3 Effect of water content against sand

mould strength

Constant water content increasing

bentonite content will cause: 1) permeability
reduces. 2) dry compressive strength and wet
compressive strength rises.
Constant bentonite content increasing
water content will cause: 1) wet compressive
strength and permeability increases until
maximum and then reduce again. 2) dry
compressive strength rises.

DEPARTMENT OF METALLURGY AND MATERIALS

UNIVERSITAS INDONESIA

III. Materials and Equipment

PRELIMINARY REPORT
SAND MOULDING PRACTICE
Moisture Content Testing

Materials
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Silica sand
Water
Bentonite
Molasses
Coal dust

Equipment
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.

Scale
Oven
Desiccator
Universal sand testing machine
Permeability tester
Flowability tester
Sand rammer
Sand tube
Sand stripping bar
Sieve shaker
Sieve set
Infrared dryer
Brushes
Stopwatch

Start

Permeability Testing

Use a newspaper as machine base

Start

Calibration the scale

Prepare cylinder and rammer

Measure the container

Calculate composition of sand and additives

Mix sand with additives

Mix sand with additives

Add water with suitable composition

Measure admixture 154 grams @ 2 samples

Stir until all materials blended

Dry admixture (oven 200C in 30 minutes)

Start

Measure 30 grams of sand mould

Wet admixture

Make a wet, dry, holding sand @ 3 samples

Put the sample inside infrared dryer

Insert admixture to cylinder

Group samples according to the type

Measure sand mould after process

Ramming

Put dry sample to oven, separate holding sample

Calculate moisture content

Calculate sample height after ramming (50 mm)

Prepare wet sample on holder USM at 0 indicator

Sample at permeability meter

Use a newspaper as machine base

Pull water cylinder about 200 m 3

Turn on machine, it will work automatically

Measure and time count

When sample begin to crack, turn off machine

Close air ventilation after 2000

Note the score which is shown in indicator

Note the time, pressure scale, and permeability

Do same experiment for dry sample and holding

Calculate permeability

Compare result of compressive and pressure

Compare with experiment result

Finish

Finish
Flowability Testing

Prepare cylinder and rammer

Prepare new sand

Calculate composition of sand and additives

Sieve sand

Mix sand with additives

Measure mesh and make a note

Measure admixture 154 grams @ 3 samples

Stack mesh on sieve shaker

Insert admixture to cylinder

Insert sand on top mesh and closed

Ramming

Finish
Compressive Strength Testing
Calculate sample height after ramming + 0.3 mm
Start
Measure mesh and make a note
Calculate weight difference and GFN

Compare with chart

Make a wet, dry, holding sand @ 3 samples

Finish
Group samples according to the type

Clean mesh with compressor

Put dry sample to oven, separate holding sample
Put all equipments at right place
Prepare wet sample on holder USM at 0 indicator
Finish

Turn on machine, it will work automatically

Note the score which is shown in indicator
Do same experiment for dry sample and holding
Finish
Shear Strength Testing

Start

Calibration the scale

Turn button on 1 and do test until 15 minutes

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NOTE

Start

IV. Procedure Flowcharts

Sand Distribution Testing

ANDARADHI NARARYA
NPM: 1206291992

V. References
1. Metal Forming Laboratory Practice Module.
2015. Processing Metallurgy Laboratory.
Department of Metallurgy and Materials,
Universitas Indonesia: Depok.
2. Priyono, Bambang. 2015. Metal Forming
Lecture Notes. Department of Metallurgy and
Materials, Universitas Indonesia: Depok.