Use of inoculators to improve the quality of castings in the lost foam casting process

Abstract

The growth dynamics of global steel production indicate market saturation. The slowdown in steel production growth is offset by improvements in steel quality and reduced product consumption. Further improvement in steel quality is not about correcting the composition, but about increasing purity and improving the structure. An increase in operational properties is possible provided that harmful impurities (oxygen, hydrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, non-ferrous metals, etc.) are effectively removed from the metal, and the remaining emissions are controlled to reduce their negative impact on the quality of metal products. And this is impossible without the development and industrial implementation of innovative materials and high technologies aimed at improving the quality and competitiveness of steel and alloys for foundry production, achieving the highest productivity values, reducing production costs, implementing energy- and resource-saving and environmentally friendly technologies, and significantly exceeding the efficiency of existing traditional materials with significantly lower consumption. Modern foreign studies and publications highlight several advanced methods for producing alloy castings in foundries. Special attention is paid to gasified model casting (LGM), which enables the production of high-strength products with precise geometry and improved surface finish. For example, in Fisher et al. (2024), modern non-destructive testing methods are discussed and effectively used to assess the quality of castings produced by these methods.