Diagnostics of composite castings, due to their complex structure, requires that their characteristics are tested by an appropriate description

method. Any deviation from the specific characteristic will be regarded as a material defect. The detection of defects in composite castings

sometimes is not sufficient and the defects have to be identified. This study classifies defects found in the structures of saturated metallic

composite castings and indicates those stages of the process where such defects are likely to be formed. Not only does the author

determine the causes of structural defects, describe methods of their detection and identification, but also proposes a schematic procedure

to be followed during detection and identification of structural defects of castings made from saturated reinforcement metallic composites.

Alloys examination was conducted after technological process, while using destructive (macroscopic tests, light and scanning electron

microscopy) and non-destructive (ultrasonic and X-ray defectoscopy, tomography, gravimetric method) methods. Research presented in

this article are part of author’s work on castings quality.

Owing to its properties, metallic foams can be used as insulation material. Thermal properties of cast metal-ceramic composite foams have applications in transport vehicles and can act as fire resistant and acoustic insulators of bulkheads. This paper presents basic thermal properties of cast and foamed aluminum, the values of thermal conductivity coefficient of selected gases used in foaming composites and thermal capabilities of composite foams (AlSi11/SiC). A certificate of non-combustibility test of cast aluminum-ceramic foam for marine applications was included inside the paper. The composite foam was prepared by the gas injection method, consisting in direct injection of gas into liquid metal. Foams with closed and open cells were examined. The foams were foaming with foaming gas consisting of nitrogen or air. This work is one of elements of researches connected with description of properties of composite foams. In author's other works acoustic properties of these materials will be presented.

This article presents the preparation of composite casts made using the technology of precise casting by the method of melted models. The composite was reinforced with the ceramic sinter from Al2O3 particle shaped in a printed polystyrene female mould, which was fired together with precured ceramics. The resulting ceramic preform, after being saturated with paraffin and after the filling system is installed, was filled with liquid moulding sand and fired together with the mould. The reinforcement was saturated by means of the counter-pressure exerting action on the metal column, being a resultant of pressures inside and outside the chamber. The preliminary assessment showed no apparent defects in the shape of the cast. The casting was measured and the figures were compared with the dimensions of the matrix in which the reinforcing preform was made, the preform after firing and after saturation with paraffin. The results were presented in a table and dimensional deviations were determined. The composite casting was subjected to metallographic tests, which excluded any porous defects or damage to the reinforcement. It can therefore be said that, according to the predictions resulting from the previous calculations, the pressure values used allowed for complete filling of the reinforcement capillaries. The proposed method is therefore suitable for the preparation of precision composite castings with complex shapes.

The paper presents a detailed description of one of the newest methods of vacuum saturation of reinforcing preforms in gypsum molds. As an appropriate selection of the infiltration time is a crucial problem during realization of this process, aim of the analysis shown in the paper is to present methods of selection of subatmospheric pressure application time, a sequence of lowering and increasing pressure, as well as examining influence of structure of reinforcing preforms on efficiency of this process. To realize the aim, studies on infiltration of reinforcing preforms made of a corundum sinter of various granulation of sintered particles with a model alloy were conducted. The infiltration process analysis was carried out in two stages. The first stage consisted in investigation of influence of lengthening of sucking off air from the reinforcing preforms on efficiency of this process. In the second stage, an analysis of influence of a two-staged infiltration process on saturation of the studied materials was conducted. Because the studied preforms were of similar porosity, the obtained differences of the saturation level of particular preforms have shown, that the saturation process is influenced mostly by size of pores present in the reinforcement. Because of these differences, each reinforcement type requires individual selection of time and sequence of the saturation process. For reinforcements of higher pore diameter, it is sufficient to simply increase air sucking off time to improve the saturation, while for reinforcement of smaller pore diameter, it is a better solution to apply the two-staged process of sucking off air. Application of the proposed analysis method allows not only obtaining composite castings of higher quality, but also economical optimization of the whole process.

Definition of a composite [1] describes an ideal composite material with perfect structure. In real composite materials, structure is usually imperfect – composites contain various types of defects [2, 3–5], especially as the casted composites are of concern. The reason for this is a specific structure of castings, related to course of the manufacturing process. In case of metal matrix composite castings, especially regarding these manufactured by saturation, there is no classification of these defects [2, 4]. Classification of defects in castings of classic materials (cast iron, cast steel, non-ferrous alloys) is insufficient and requires completion of specific defects of mentioned materials. This problem (noted during manufacturing metal matrix composite castings with saturated reinforcement in Institute of Basic Technical Sciences of Maritime University Szczecin) has become a reason of starting work aimed at creating such classification. As a result, this paper was prepared. It can contribute to improvement of quality of studied materials and, as a consequence, improve the environment protection level.