Çolak, M.; Alkan, N.; Kutsal, Ü.

The fluidity behavior of Al–Si casting alloys is strongly influenced by impurity elements and intermetallic phase formation during solidification. In particular, iron (Fe) reduces melt fluidity by forming brittle Fe-rich intermetallics, whereas manganese (Mn) can mitigate this effect by modifying intermetallic morphology. In this study, secondary A356 aluminum alloys were produced with Fe contents of 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20 wt.% and nominal Mn additions of 0.05, 0.10, and 0.20 wt.% to investigate their combined effect on fluidity behavior. Melt quality was assessed using reduced pressure testing and density index measurements to ensure consistent casting conditions. Fluidity tests were conducted using spiral and eight-channel molds with section thicknesses ranging from 0.5 to 8 mm. To enable quantitative comparison across different section geometries, a Fluidity Index (FI) was defined based on section-normalized flow lengths. The results show that increasing Fe content generally reduces fluidity, while Mn additions significantly improve melt flow, with the most pronounced enhancement observed at 0.20 wt.% Mn. Thinner sections were found to be more sensitive to Fe-related flow restriction, whereas wider channels exhibited improved flow behavior. These findings demonstrate that appropriate Mn additions can effectively stabilize fluidity in secondary A356 alloys and provide practical guidelines for alloy control in recycled aluminum casting applications.

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Kutsal, U.; Çolak, M.; Sağnak, Y.; Bardakci, S.; Ammas, G.; Sarper, G.

Melt cleanliness is a critical factor that directly affects the quality of aluminum castings and becomes even more significant in recycling-oriented production, where high scrap utilization is inevitable. Increasing the proportion of scrap intensifies the risk of oxide films, inclusions, and gas porosity in the molten metal; therefore, efficient refining techniques are essential. In this study, the effects of rotary degassing parameters—including rotor speed, rotation time, and gas flow rate—on melt cleanliness of A356 aluminum alloy were systematically investigated. Experimental melts containing 20% primary and 80% scrap aluminum were treated under various degassing conditions using a commercial flux cleaning flux. Characterization was performed through the Reduced Pressure Test (RPT), bifilm index analysis, fluidity measurements, microstructural examinations, and mechanical testing (tensile test and Brinell hardness measurement). The results demonstrated that increasing the rotor speed from 200 rpm to 500 rpm significantly reduced both the density and bifilm indices, indicating a notable improvement in melt cleanliness. Furthermore, higher gas flow rate (10 L/min) and longer rotation time (10 min) provided additional but secondary improvements. Consequently, the optimization of rotary degassing parameters enhanced not only melt quality but also tensile strength and ductility. These findings offer practical insights for optimizing process control in recycling-based aluminum foundries.

İncele

Çolak, M.; Uslu, E.; Teke, Ç.; Şafak, F.; Erol, Ö.; Erol, Y.; Çoban, Y.; Yavuz, M.

Material suppliers typically recommend different additive amounts and applications for foundry practices. Therefore, even in the production of the same standard materials, different results may be obtained from various production processes on different foundry floors. In this study, the liquid metal prepared with the addition of different proportions of a FeSi-based inoculation, which is most commonly used in foundries in the production of a cast iron material with EN-GJL-250 lamellar graphite cast iron, was cast into sand molds prepared with a model designed to provide different solidification times. In this way, the optimization of the inoculation amounts on the casting structure for different solidification times was investigated. In addition, hardness values were determined depending on solidification time in varying amounts of inoculation additions. SolidCast casting simulation software was used to determine the casting model geometry and solidification time. In the scope of the study, sand casting, modeling, microstructure analysis, image analysis, microstructure analysis, and hardness tests techniques were used. When the results are examined, the required amount of inoculation for the optimal structure is optimized for the application procedure depending on the casting module and the solidification time.

AtıfScopus2·WoS2·OpenAlex2

İncele

Teke, Ç.; Çolak, M.; Taş, M.; İpek, M.

In the casting of liquid metal, the feeding stops when the mushy zone is clogged and does not allow the transfer of feeding liquid. The growing resistance of the solid dendrites against the fluidity of the feeding liquid is defined as the critical fraction of solid (CFS). CFS value varies depending on many factors such as alloy solidification range, initial mold temperature, and the grain size. Therefore, in many casting simulation applications, it is quite common to get inconsistent results due to insufficient information about the CFS. In this study, a fuzzy expert system (FES) model has been developed in order to determine the value of the CFS in the die casting process, based on the parameters of the alloy type, the initial mold temperature, Al5Ti1B addition and Al10Sr addition. In order to create the rule base for the FES model, 54 die casting experiments have been carried out. The CFS values obtained using the FES model has revealed that the developed model of the FES predicts the CFS value in a high performance.

AtıfScopus4·WoS3·OpenAlex6

İncele

Özen, F.; Fiçici, F.; Dündar, M.; Çolak, M.

Aluminium alloys have found usage in numerous industries due to some superior properties, such as high strength-to-weight ratios and high oxidation resistance. Aluminum alloys can be strengthened by some techniques. One of them, the most practical one, is precipitation hardening in aluminum alloys. By adding Cu, aluminum gains strength and hardness. In this work the machinability of unalloyed aluminum and aluminum alloyed with 4% and 8% of Cu have been investigated. Machinability assessment was executed in terms of surface roughness during turning operation. Specimens were manufactured by sand casting method, which is a commonly utilized casting operation. In machinability experiments, three different cutting tool materials were employed. Three different cutting speeds and three different feed rates have been used. Effect of these feeds, speeds and cutting tool materials on surface roughness has been studied. In addition, effect of Cu addition to aluminum alloys on surface roughness has been examined.

AtıfScopus9·WoS6·OpenAlex10

İncele

Çolak, M.; Dlşplnar, D.

Grain refining and modification are common foundry practice for improving properties of cast Al-Si alloys. In general, these types of treatments provide better fluidity, decreased porosity, higher yield strength and ductility. However, in practice, there are still some discrepancies on the reproducibility of the results from grain refining and effect of the refiner's additions. Several factors include the fading effect of grain refinement and modifiers, inhomogeneous dendritic structure and non-uniform eutectic modification. In this study, standard ALCAN test was used by considering Taguchi's experimental design techniques to evaluate grain refinement and modification efficiency. The effects of five casting parameters on the grain size have been investigated for A357 casting alloy. The results showed that the addition of the grain refiner was the most effective factor on the grain size. It was found that holding time, casting temperature, alloy type and modification with Sr were less effective over grain refinement.

AtıfScopus7·WoS6·OpenAlex7

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