Evaluation of the foundry properties of Oyun river (Ilorin) moulding sand
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Date
2019-02-26
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Adeleke University, Ede, Nigeria.
Abstract
Inadequate information on available natural moulding sands in Nigeria resulted to the use of the sand for casting without recourse to their suitability. This practice resulted to poor casting quality and underdevelopment of Nigerian foundry industry. In this study, the properties of Oyun natural moulding sand were evaluated to determine its suitability for sand casting. The chemical and physico -mechanical properties of the sand samples were examined using America Foundrymen’s Society (AFS) guidelines. The results of the chemical analysis showed that the sand contained SiO₂ and, Al₂O₃ from 84.49 to 84.58% and 7.17 to 7.22% respectively, with smaller proportions of other elements such as NaO₂ and K₂O, CaO, Fe₂O₃, MgO and TiO₂. The physico-mechanical properties of the sand were clay content (14.96 - 15.79 %), moisture content (8.15 – 8.48%), grain fineness number (83.40 – 89.24), green compressive strength (77.31 – 79.73 KN/m²), dry compressive strength (200.24 – 214.65 KN/m²) and refractoriness (above 1300°C). These results were within the AFS standard recommendation values for non-ferrous metal casting. Hence, Oyun moulding sand was found suitable as mould sand for various types of casting of metals like grey steel, aluminum, bronze, brass and light steels. Effective utilization of this sand for foundry applications will help to improve the economy of Nigeria and subsequently aid in reducing social problems as result of unemployment.
Description
Keywords
Casting, Characterisation, Natural moulding sand, Oyun river, Small and medium scale enterprises
Citation
Shuaib-Babata, Y. L., Ibrahim, H. K., Ajao, K. S., Ambali, I. O. and Bello, M. O.