Lost foam casting (LFC) is regarded as a cost-effective, environment-friendly vital option to the conventional casting process for production of near-net shape castings with high quality. Effect of vacuum on the solidification process and microstructure of LFC magnesium alloy were explored. The results indicate that vacuum plays a very important role in the heat transfer during mould filling and solidification periods, it increases the cooling rate of the filling melt, but greatly decreases the cooling rate of the casting during solidification period, and the solidification time of the casting is greater than that without vacuum. The microstructure of LFC magnesium alloy is rather coarse. Compared with that without vacuum, the microstructure of the LFC magnesium alloy under vacuum is more refined and has less precipitatedβ-phase, which is formed at the grain boundry and around the Al-Mn compound particle.
Effects of vacuum, pouring temperature and pattern thickness on the heat transfer of magnesium alloy lost foam casting(LFC) process were explored. The results indicate that without vacuum a positive thermal gradient from the gate to the end of the casting was formed immediately after the mold filling. The average temperature of the casting, the temperature gradient and solidification times increase significantly with pouring temperature and pattern thickness. Vacuum plays a quite different role in the heat transfer during mould filling and solidification periods: it significantly increases the cooling rate of the filling melt, but decreases the cooling rate of the casting during solidification period. The temperature of the liquid metal drops sharply and varies greatly with no apparent mode in the casting after the mold filling. The amplitude of temperature fluctuations in the casting increases with vacuum, pouring temperature and pattern thickness. The average temperature increases with pouring temperature and pattern thickness, but less rapidly than that without vacuum. The effect of vacuum on the solidification times of castings is found to depend on pouring temperature, vacuum makes solidification times increase greatly at high pouring temperature, while decreases slightly at low pouring temperature.
The visual observation of the mold filling and the standard analysis-of-variance （ANOVA） for the velocity of the filling metal are conducted to study foam-metal interface behaviors during the mold filling of the lost foam casting （LFC） process of the magnesium alloy. Results show that the foam primarily melts into liquid products instead of gasifying at the pouring temperature of the magnesium alloy. Without the vacuum, the metal fills smoothly with a slightly convex metal front, and the velocity of the filling metal is low and continually decreases as the foam is displaced. The mold filling is governed by the removal of foam decomposition products at the foam-metal interface. However, when the vacuum is applied, the mold filling is controlled by the foam decomposition rate at the foam-metal interface. A pronounced irregular and concave metal front is formed. The velocity of the metal front varies tremendously during the mold filling process and is ruleless. The metal velocity increases rapidly, and the vacuum shows a strong interaction effect with the pouring temperature on the metal velocity. As the vacuum continues to increase, the pouring temperature becomes the most significant factor for the mold filling, while both the vacuum effect and the interaction effect between the vacuum and the pouring temperature on the metal velocity are substantially reduced. Based on experimental results, a model for the foam thermal degradation and the removal of decomposition products occurred at the foam-metal interface is presented during the mold filling of the magnesium alloy LFC process under the vacuum.
