Investigation of Fused Alumina Based-Mold Facecoats for DZ22B Directionally Solidified Blades

The interaction between alloy melt and mold facecoats is the main factor affecting the surface quality of investment casting nickel-based superalloys. An investigation was undertaken to develop suitable refractories as facecoat materials for the directionally solidified blades of DZ22B nickel-based superalloys in order to avoid a sand-burning defect. The wettability and interface reactions between alloy melt and various facecoats were studied by using a sessile drop experiment and the real investment casting method, respectively. The results show that by adding Cr(2)O(3) powder with the amounts of 2 wt.%, 5 wt.% and 10 wt.% in the fused alumina-based facecoats, the wetting angles between the alloy melt and facecoats decreased from 105.40° to 100.37°, 99.96° and 98.11°, respectively, while the sand-burning defect on the casting blade surfaces still formed during the process of directional solidification. However, by adding h-BN powder in the fused alumina-based facecoats, the wetting angles between the alloy melt and facecoats dramatically increased, the sand-burning defect on the casting blade surfaces was effectively inhibited and a metallic luster on the directionally solidified blades could be obviously observed. In this study, the suitable composition of mold facecoats for the investment casting of blades is 2 wt.% h-BN added fused alumina.