Optimization of Permanent Mold Mechanical Property Test Bars in A356 Alloy Using a New Mold Design

Using separately cast test bars is a quick and convenient method of determining as-cast metal quality in the foundry—although such results are only representative of the section of a casting solidifying at the same rate as the test bar. Unfortunately the current standard test bar mold suffers from shrinkage porosity which detracts from best properties. In this work computer simulation has been utilized to predict and design an improved permanent mold test bar mold. A356 alloy has been melted and treated with best metal cleaning practices (degassing, filtration) in order to assess the effect of clean metal as a baseline (Phase 1) of this research prior to microstructural enhancements (modification, grain refinement, SDAS) which is Phase 2 of this research.