Papers by Author: Danilo Bardaro

Abstract: Sintered fused silica is often used for making sacrificial cores in investment castings of Ni superalloys. Their usage is fundamental in the manufacture of precise superalloy gas turbine components with complex internal cooling passages. In this study SiO2/ZrSiO4/TiO2 cores were prepared from fused silica powders with different grain size and zircon and TiO2 content by slip casting method. Green samples were sintered at 1230°C at various soaking time: from 0,5 to 10 hours. Thermomechanical and microstructural properties of optimized silica obtained by add of 1,5%wt of TiO2 to SiO2/ZrSiO4 composition have been investigated by three point bending tests, XRD and Hg porosimetric analysis. The influence of cristobalite content on thermal stability at high temperature was studied by an optical dilatometer. At temperature below 1200°C TiO2 appears to act as a phase transformation inhibitor reducing the transformation rate of fused silica to cristobalite at high temperatures. At higher temperature it speeds up the formation of cristobalite. A comparison with commercial silica cores made by injection moulding has been performed. A prototype core was obtained and an investment casting was performed on that.

Abstract: The aim of the work is the study of the pyroplasticity in ceramic materials in order to simulate the deformations of complex ceramic component during sintering. A ceramic material undergoing densification can be treated as a linear viscous material. Generally, the viscosity decreases as the temperature increases, however the densification and the consequent grain growth, result in a viscosity increase. A bending creep test is proposed for measuring the change in viscosity of the ceramic material during densification. Equations, based on beam deflection theory, are derived to determine the viscosity during the whole firing cycle by measuring the deflection in the centre of specimens. In addition, dilatometric analyses are performed to measure the sintering shrinkage and the specimen density, which continuously changes during the sintering process. On the basis of an accurate experimental characterization the parameters of Maxwell viscoelastic constitutive law are derived. A numerical-experimental procedure has been adopted in order to calibrate the numerical model that, finally, has been used to predict the pyroplastic deformations of complex ceramic components.