The article is a case study of the steel milling ring casting of about 6 tonnes net weight. The casting has been cast in the steel foundry the authors have been cooperating with. The aim was to analyse the influence of the shape of the chills and the material which was used to make them on the casting crystallization process. To optimally design the chills the set of the computer simulation has been carried out with 3 chills’ shape versions and 3 material’s versions and the results have been compared with the technology being in use (no chills). The proposed chills were of different thermal conductivity from low to high. Their shapes were obviously dependant on the adjacent casting surface geometry but were the result of the attempt to optimise their effect with the minimum weight, too. The chills working efficiency was analysed jointly with the previously designed top feeders system. The following parameters have been chosen to compare their effectiveness and the crystallization process: time to complete solidification and so-called fed volume describing the casting feeding efficiency. The computer simulations have been carried out with use of MagmaSoft v. 5.2 software. Finally, the optimisation has led to 15% better steel yield thanks to 60% top feeders weight reduction and 40% shorter solidification time. The steel ring cast with use of such technology fulfil all quality criteria.
City is a formal expression of social relations. It is a kind of ethos and dreams connected with history and identity of individuals. It is a structure with thousands of meanings. The opportunities it creates can lead to an outstanding civilization. At the same time it reveals all negative aspects of living. City is a collection of separate individuals combined with common perception of spatial affi liation and identity development. It is worth writing about city because despite its well-defi ned value it is an elusive being. In spite of being a kind of collective needs it is still on the move, transforms all the time reflecting human emotions. Existence of city as a phenomena itself is a symbol of realization of people’s most basic needs and the history of its development shows growing complication and diversification of expectations related to it. City along with is diversity reflects human beings of a particular time. It is a spotlight in which both successes and failures of communities and individuals in each epoch can be seen. Thanks to its interdisciplinary character it can be perceived as multidimensional place. It is a multifaceted organism with high hopes and unlimited opportunities. Differences in perception which are due to a number of its users results in a wide range of problems and expectations. Expectations of local communities and individuals of a whole city vary. As a result, what we call a city landscape must be very vague and differs depending on a particular field which is taken into consideration. The number of opportunities and city-related issues is infi nite. In the dissertation below, however, three factors are the crucial ones: structure, meaning and city phenomena as a landscape. Thanks to the interpretation of model and genius loci as well as defining social expectations we have managed to conceive the phenomena of spatial identity. We have decided on this method referring directly to the concept of landscape. City is in here widely defined between urban aspects of landscape and city landscape. We have tried to understand what city is in terms of landscape, where it comes from and where it goes to. It is a trial of translation the Gaugin’s method: where are we from? Who are we? Where are we going to? into the language of present perception of some particular aspects of town planning. We live at times of the unprecedented technological change which is followed by a social change. It all must have an impact on how city is perceived, what it looks like, how it is to live there and what it is going to be like – what the future has in store. We have tried to bring the reader’s attention to the problems and issues which had appeared before the advent of reality we live in. We have focused on what may have led to a kind of city crisis at the edge of 19th and 20th centuries and some radical solutions trying to overcome the arisen problems and its consequences today. Both its pompous character and sentimentalism of town planning and architecture in the early 20th century have made us be bored with form which is felt in many parts of the world even today. Another aspect of our work covers understanding city in social terms as well as contemporary and future solutions. We are of the opinion it is worth asking questions referring to the future and at the same time regarding its current state and recent past. It is commendable to look for particular tools and solutions. Three dimensions which are covered by the book are figurative. Structure – which is everything we perceive as a kind of a template, identifi cation – we assign to city. It is responsible for recognition, adaptation to some forms by which we defi ne space. Meaning is a step forward. While the structure’s equivalent is „I can see”, the meaning equals to „I know”. Meaning does not exist as a city without structure just like structure does not exist without meaning. Things don’t just exist, they have some characteristics and purpose and it refers to trees, buildings and all other urban elements constituting city in all steady and temporary aspects and time dimensions. Meaning is also interpretation and emotion regarding both community and individual. It is the answer to the question „why?” Some particular places and spaces are linked to some particular values which identify them. This system of values is a must to be able to interpret what space we are dealing with and its diagnosis. Meaning is very much about social aspect too. It has to do with perception and remembering city and it is connected with knowledge, tradition and culture of places. Another aspect linked to relations in city landscape combines other aspects and constitutes something to which city refers to. Phenomena is contribution and verifi cation. The way city works is fundamental to all city residents and users. A key to such understanding a city is the term of genius loci. By singling out objects, order, time, character and light we are able to widely identify essence of space and particular places. The graphic model by Panofsky acts here as a verifying tool. City landscape as a form is of great importance here. The sense of beauty is as essential as the way the city works. Social perception of city is not only shaped by the way it is used, but also by the fact what city is like and how it is perceived. Spatial order is an incredibly important factor understood here as everything what accommodates vaguely defi ned beauty and what is connected with its particular structure, history and identity. All these factors contribute to the value of city landscape. When it comes to city landscape studies social aspect is emphasized by the impact of humanities, especially sociology, which perfectly shows expectations related to space. Cities are built and seen in the context of particular tradition, culture and history. Their skyline and ways of functioning are embedded in mentalities of societies which they represent. Despite their diversity from the global point of view they are susceptible to similar trends resulting in crisis or prosperity periods. They are economic archetypes of success.
The effect of CaSiAl modification (43-49% Ca, 43-48% Si, 2% Al) on the non-metallic inclusions and mechanical properties of cast lowcarbon steel is discussed. Tests were carried out on the cast steel with 0.2% C and micro-additives of V and Nb, used mainly for heavy steel castings (e.g. slag ladles). The modifier in an amount of 1.5 and 3 kg / Mg was introduced to the liquid steel before tapping the metal into a ladle. Test ingots of Y type and a weight of 10 kg were cast and then subjected to a normalizing heat treatment. Using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the non-metallic inclusions present in as-cast samples was carried out. Additionally, tests of mechanical strength and impact strength were performed on cast steel with and without the different content of modifier. It was found that increasing the modifier addition affected impact strength but had no significant effect on tensile strength and yield strength. The material with high impact strength had the smallest area fraction of non-metallic inclusions in the microstructure (0.20%). The introduction of modifiers changed the morphology of non-metallic inclusions from dendritic to regular and nodular shapes.
The research focused on the influence of the solution temperature on the structure of precipitation hardening multi-component hypoeutectic aluminium alloys. The AlSi8Cu3 and AlSi6Cu4 alloys were used in the study and were subjected to a thermal-derivative analysis. The chemical composition and crystallization of phases and eutectics shift the characteristic points and the corresponding temperatures to other values, which affect to, for instance, the solution temperature. The alloys were supersaturated at 475°C (according to the determined temperature (TSol) and 505°C for 1.5 hours. Aging was performed at 180°C for 5 hours. The Rockwell hardness measurement, metallographic analysis of alloys by means of light microscopy as well as chemical and phase analysis using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography were carried out on alloys. The use of computer image analysis enabled the determination of the amount of the current Al2Cu phase in the alloys before and after heat treatment.
The paper presents a method of producing a grey cast iron casting locally reinforced with a titanium insert printed using SLM method (Selective Laser Melting). This article attempts to examine the impact of the selected geometry of titanium spatial insert on the surface layer formation on grey cast iron. The scope of the research focuses on metallographic examination - observation and analysis of the structure of the reinforced surface layer on a light and scanning microscope and a hardness measurement of the titanium layer area. Based on the obtained results, it was concluded that the reaction between titanium insert and metal (grey cast iron) locally develops numerous carbides precipitation (mainly TiC particles), which increases the hardness of the reinforced surface layer and local strengthening of the material. The ratio between the thickness of the support part (grey cast iron) and the working part (titanium insert) affects the resulting layers connection structure. The properties of the obtained reinforced surface layer depend mainly on the geometry of the insert (primarily on the internal dimensions of the connector) and the volume of the casting affecting the re-melting of the insert. A more concentrated structure of carbides precipitation occurs in castings with a full connector insert.
The paper presents some aspects of a development project related to Industry 4.0 that was executed at Nemak, a leading manufacturer of the aluminium castings for the automotive industry, in its high pressure die casting foundry in Poland. The developed data analytics system aims at predicting the casting quality basing on the production data. The objective is to use these data for optimizing process parameters to raise the products’ quality as well as to improve the productivity. Characterization of the production data including the recorded process parameters and the role of mechanical properties of the castings as the process outputs is presented. The system incorporates advanced data analytics and computation tools based on the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and applying an MS Excel platform. It enables the foundry engineers and operators finding the most efficient process variables to ensure high mechanical properties of the aluminium engine block castings. The main features of the system are explained and illustrated by appropriate graphs. Chances and threats connected with applications of the data-driven modelling in die casting are discussed.