ating Systems for Castin

V.N. Prasad
• Department of Mechanical
Engineering
• RGUKT, R K Valley
Gating systems refer to all those elements, which are connected
with the flow of molten metal from the ladle to the mold cavity.
Elements of gating system are:
1. Pouring basin,
2. Sprue,
3. Sprue base well,
4. Runner,
5. Runner extension,
6. In- gates (Gates)
7. Riser
Any gating system designed should aim at providing a defect – free
casting.
This can be achieved by making provision for certain requirements
while designing the gating system.
These are as follows:
1. The mold should be completely filled in the smallest time possible
without having to raise the metal temperatures or use higher metal
heads.
2. The metal should flow smoothly into the mold without any
turbulence. A turbulent metal flow tends to form dross in the mold.
3. Unwanted material such as slag, dross and other mold material
should not be allowed to enter the mold cavity.
4. The metal entry into the mold cavity should be properly controlled
in such a way that aspiration of the atmospheric air is prevented.
5. A proper thermal gradient be maintained so that the casting is
cooled without any shrinkage cavities or distortions.
6. Metal flow should be maintained in such a way that no gating or mould
erosion takes place.
7. The gating system should ensure that enough molten metal reaches the
mould cavity.
8. The gating system design should be economical and easy to implement
and remove after casting solidification.
9. Ultimately, the casting yield should be maximized.
Elements of a Gating system
 Pouring basin

 To Prevent vortex formation

 To hold the slag and dirt back
 Pouring Basin Design:
• The molten metal is not directly poured into the mould cavity because it
may cause mould erosion.
• Pouring basin acts as a reservoir from which molten metal moves
smoothly into the sprue.

• Skim Core or Skimmer is provided to stop the slag and dirt from
entering the mould cavity which floats on the top and only allows the
clean metal underneath it into the sprue.
 • The pouring basin may be cut into the cope directly or a separate dry
sand pouring basin may be prepared and used as shown in figure.

• One of the walls of the pouring

basin is made inclined at about 45o
to the horizontal.
• The molten metal is poured on this
face such that metal momentum is
absorbed and vortex formation is
avoided.
• The main function of a pouring basin is to reduce the momentum of the
liquid flowing into the mould by settling first into it.
• In order that the pouring metal enters into the sprue without any
turbulence, it is necessary that the pouring basin be deep enough, and
also the entrance into the sprue be a smooth radius of at least 25 mm.
• Experience shows that the pouring – basin depth of 2.5 times the sprue
entrance diameter is enough for smooth metal flow and to prevent vortex
formation.

Figure: Pouring basin proprtions

• A strainer core (fig.a) may be used to establish the constant conditions of flow.
• It is a ceramic-coated screen with many small holes.
• It helps in providing a smooth flow while restricting the flow of slag into the
mould.

• A ceramic filter (Fig.b) completely stops slag allowing only clean metal
to go into the sprue, and also ensures a constant flow of metal.

• Pouring-basin designs with (a )strainer core and (b) ceramic-foam

filter
Strainer Cores
Strainer Cores
Ceramic foam filters for reducing slag
Ceramic Filters
Zero Vortex (OV) Pour Cup

Ready Made Ceramic Pouring cups

• The metal should be poured steadily into the pouring basin
keeping the lip of the ladle as close as possible.
 Design of Sprue

• Sprue is the channel through which the molten metal is brought into
the parting plane, where it enters the runners and gates to ultimately
reach the mould cavity.

• A sprue is tapered with its bigger end at top to receive the liquid metal.
The smaller end is connected to runner.
The design of the sprue is based on the Law of continuity of mass:

Assuming
– entire mould is at atmospheric pressure (no point below atmospheric)
– metal in the pouring basin is at zero velocity (reservoir assumption)
•• What
  is Law of continuity of mass?
• The rate of flow of mass of the fluid is constant at any cross – section.
• Mass flow rate =  A V = constant
2

Where m = rate of flow of mass

= velocity of liquid metal at (1)

= velocity of liquid metal at (2)
= velocity of liquid metal at (3)

Q2
Where Q = Volume rate of flow
 •Q
  2
   

• Applying continuity equation

between point 2 and 3

we get
∴ 

• Actual shape of sprue is Parabola

• But in order to avoid manufacturing difficulty we use tapered cylinder shape
 Table shows the theoretical values of area ratios of top and
choke portions of the sprue based on sprue height and metal
head in the pouring basin.

Table: Theoretical ratios of sprue top and choke areas

based on pouring basin depth
 Question: Why Sprue is tapered? Why not straight?

• As the liquid flows down, the cross section of the fluid decreases. So
the taper is provided in the sprue.
• Liquid loses contact if the sprue is straight which could cause
“aspiration”.
(Or)
• If the sprue were to be straight cylindrical, then the metal flow would
not be full at the bottom, but some low-pressure area would be
created around the metal in the sprue.
• Since the mould is permeable, atmospheric air would be breathed
into this low-pressure area which would then be carried to the mould
cavity.
• To eliminate this problem of air aspiration, the sprue is tapered to
gradually reduce the cross section as it moves away from the top of
 Sprue Base Well

Sprue Base Well

• Reduces momentum
• Reduces mould erosion
Sprue Base Well Design:
• This is a reservoir for metal at the bottom of the sprue to reduce the
momentum of the molten metal.
• The molten metal as it moves down the sprue gains in velocity, some
of which is lost in the sprue base well by which the mould erosion is
reduced.

A general guideline for design:

• The sprue base well area should
be five times that of the sprue
choke area and
• The well depth should be
approximately equal to that of
the runner.
• For a narrow and deep runner, the well
diameter should be 2.5 times the width
of the runner in a two-runner system,
• and twice its width in a one-runner
system.

 Reasonable
proportions for a
sprue base well are
shown in the figure

Sprue – base – well Design

 Runner

Located in parting plane

Connects sprue and in-gates

Extended further after it encounters the

in-gate
 Runner
• It is located in parting plane and connects the sprue to the in-gates
• The runners are normally made trapezoidal in cross-section.
• It is a general practice for ferrous metals to cut the runners in the cope
and the in-gates in the drag. The main reason for this is to trap the slag
and dross, which are lighter and thus trapped in the upper portion of the
runners.
• The slag trapping takes place in the runner, when runner flows full. if the
amount of molten metal coming from sprue base is more than the amount
flowing through the in-gates.
• A partially filled runner causes slag to enter the mould cavity.
 Runner Extension
• The runner is extended a little further after it encounters the in-gate.
• The runner extension is provided to trap the slag in the molten metal.
• The metal initially comes along with the slag floating at the top of the
ladle and flows straight, going beyond the in-gate and then is trapped
in the runner extension.
 Rules for Runner Design

• While designing the runner system, care should be taken to reduce

sharp corners or sudden change of cross sections since they tend to
cause turbulence and gas entrapment.
• Though from heat-loss factor, circular cross-section runners are
preferable, traditionally trapezoidal runner sections are employed to
reduce the turbulence.
• The approximate proportions are from a square to rectangle.
• Width of the runner = 2 x depth of the runner
• The runner’s cross-sectional area is generally two to four times the
cross-sectional area of the choke. (depends on the gating ratio).
• Runners should maintain a minimum distance from the casting (4 to 5
times the thickness of the gate)
• For cylindrical castings the sprues Runner
may be located on the axis of
rotation with sufficient number of
radial runner feeding the casting as
shown in figure (a).

Fig. (a)

• An alternative arrangement is that

sprue is located to one side of the
casting and a runner around the
periphery with the properly
positioned in-gates as shown in
figure (b).

Fig. (b)
• Non-uniform, long path,
and/or slow metal flow
may produce unfilled
sections or solidification
shrinkage in the casting.

• Too many gates and

runners will also require
additional molten metal
and decrease the casting
yield (metal in casting
versus total metal poured)
 Gates or In-gates
• These are openings through which molten metal enters the mold
cavity.
• The shape and the cross-section of the in-gate should be such
that it can readily be broken off after casting solidification and
also that it allows the metal to enter quietly into the mould
cavity.
Depending on the application, various types of gates are used in
the casting design.
Types of gates:
1. Top Gate
2. Bottom Gate
3. Parting Gate
4. Step Gate
 Top Gate:
• In this type of gate metal enters the cavity from top.
• Cavity is filled very quickly. Therefore, top gates are not advisable for
those materials which are likely to form dross (turbulence, waste, slag, etc.)
• The hottest metal remains at the top of casting, this promotes directional
solidification from the casting towards the gate

• Suggested only for ferrous alloys and

not for non ferrous materials.

• Suitable only for simple casing

shapes, which are essentially shallow
in nature.

• Strainer core may be used in pouring

cup
• To reduce mould erosion, pencil • Top gating system
gates (Fig. (a) are provided in incorporating insulating sleeve
the pouring cup. with ceramic filter as shown in
• Requires minimum runners. figure (b).
• Provides higher casting yield.

Figure: Top Gate

 Bottom Gate
• The molten metal enters from bottom to the mould cavity.
• Minimizes turbulence and erosion in the mould cavity.
• It takes more time to fill the mold.
• Generally used for very deep moulds.
• These gates may cause unfavorable temperature gradients that do not
promote directional solidification compared to the top gating.

Bottom Gates
 Parting Gate
• It is most commonly used gate and is a compromise between
top and bottom gates.
• The gate is provided at the parting line of the mould.
• Of all the gates, this is also the easiest and most economical
in preparation.
 Step Gate
• They are used for heavy and large
castings.
• The molten metal enters mold
cavity through a number of ingates,
which are arranged in vertical
steps.
• The size of in-gates is normally
increased from top to bottom.
• This ensures the gradual filling of
the mold without mold erosion and
produces sound casting
a) Simple system
b) Simple inclined steps
c) Inclined steps with common junction
d) Reversed down runner
In-gate Design
• Multiple ingates often are preferable for large parts
• The minimum ingate length should be three to five times the
ingate’s width, depending on the metal being cast.
• And generally made wider compared to the depth, up to a ratio
of 4.
• This facilitates in the severing of gating from the casting after
solidification.
• Sometimes it is preferable to reduce the actual connection
between the in-gate and the casting by means of a neck down,
wash burn for easy removal of the gating.
• Curved ingates should be avoided, as far as possible.
To make for more uniform flow through all the gates, progressively, the
runner area should be reduced after each-in-gate, such that restriction
on the metal flow would be provided.
 Gating Ratios
• The gating ratio refers to the proportion of the cross
sectional areas between the sprue, runner and in-gates and is
generally denoted as

Sprue area: runner area: in-gate area

Depending on the choke area, there can be two types of gating

systems
Non-pressurized:
Pressurized
 Non-pressurized:
• In this system, there is no pressure existing in the metal flow and it
helps to reduce turbulence.
• Has choke at the bottom of the sprue base.
• Total runner area and in-gate areas higher than the sprue area.
• The gating ratio of a typical example is
Sprue : runner : in-gate :: 1: 4: 4
Useful for casting drossy alloys such as aluminium and magnesium
alloys.
• Have tapered sprues, sprue base wells and pouring basins.
• When the metal is to enter the mould cavity through multiple in-gates,
the cross section of the runner should accordingly be reduced at each of
a runner break-up to allow for equal distribution of metal through all the
in-gates.
Disadvantages:
Air aspiration effect is more
Pressurized gating system:
• The total cross-sectional are gradually decreases from choke to ingates.
• Normally the in-gate area is the smallest, thus maintaining a back
pressure throughout the gating system.
• The metal is more turbulent and flows full and can minimize the air
aspiration even when a straight sprue is used
• When multiple gates are used, this system allows all the gates to flow full.
• Provide higher casting yield.
• Because of the turbulence and the associated dross formation, this type of
gating system is not used for light alloys but can be used for ferrous
castings.
• Gating ratio of a typical example is
Sprue : runner : in-gate :: 1:2:1
• These are the general considerations on the choice of a gating system.
• But a lot depends on the specific foundry practice as evidenced from the
following table, of the various gating ratios recommended or used in practice.

Table: Some gating ratios used in practice

 Pressurized gating Un-pressurized gating

The total cross sectional area The total cross sectional area
decreases towards the mould cavity. increases towards the mould cavity.

More turbulence and chances of Less turbulence.

mould erosion.

Flow of liquid metal (Volume) is Flow of liquid metal (Volume) is

almost equal from all ingates. different from each ingate.

Casting yield is more Casting yield is less.

Complex and thin sections can be Complex and thin sections may not be
successfully cast. successfully cast.
 Slag Trap Systems
• To obtain sound casting quality, it is essential that the slag and other
impurities be removed from the molten metal fully before it enters
the mould cavity.
• Apart from the use of pouring basin and strainer cores follows are the
two methods to trap the slag and other impurities.

1. Runner Extension:
• A runner extension having a minimum of twice the runner width is
desirable.
2. Whirl Gate:
• This utilizes the principle of centrifugal
action to throw the dense metal to the
periphery and retain the lighter slag at
the centre.
• In order to achieve this action, it is
necessary that the entry area should be at
least 1.5 times the exit area so that the
metal is built up at the centre quickly.
• Also, the metal should revolve 270o
before reaching the exit gate so as to
gain enough time for separating the
impurities.
 Chill
• Chills are provided in the mould so as to increase the heat extraction
capability of the sand mould.
• A chill provides a steeper temperature gradient so that directional
solidification as required in a casting can be obtained.
• The chills are metallic objects having higher heat absorbing
capability than the sand mould. Chills are large heat sinks.

• Whenever it is not possible

to provide a riser for a part
of the casting which is
heavy, a chill is placed
closed to it as shown in Shrinka
ge
figure. So that more heat is
Cavity
quickly absorbed by the
chill from the larger mass
making the cooling rate
equal to that of the thin
sections.
Types of Chills:
1. External
2. Internal

3. External:
• Placed in the mould cavity
adjoining the mould cavity at any
required position.
• Providing a chill at the edge may
hot have the desired effect as the
temperature gradient is steeper at
the end of the casting.
• It would have maximum effect if it
is placed between two risers.
Internal chills:

• Placed inside the mould cavity where an external chill cannot be provided.
• The material of the chill should approximately resemble the composition of
the pouring metal for proper fusing.
• The chill is located inside of the casting and becomes part of the casting.
• Cleanliness of internal chills is far more important because they are
surrounded on all sides by the molten metal.
• Because of the serious problems associated with internal chills, they should be
sparingly used.
• Chills never can compensate shrinkage, but will only relocate shrinkage!
• It will never decrease the liquid shrinkage of a material but it will concentrate
the shrinkage into locations close by or in the influence zone (feeding zone) of
the risers.
Figure: Typical internal and external chills
• In those castings which
have ribs or bosses, the
joint is a source of hot
spot.
• This hot spot could be
eliminated by using a
chill of appropriate size
at the end of the rib or
the appendage.

Figure: Chill proportions required in plate steel castings.

Developed by Myskowski, Where T is the thickness of the parent

casting.
Effect of chill on feeding distance
Grouping castings:
• Grouping of several castings
around a single riser helps in
increasing the casting yield.
• Since the same riser will be able to
feed to more than one casting as
shown in figure (b).
• Also, by small variation in the
moulding practice, it is possible to
reduce the risering requirement as
shown in figure (C) as the heat
from the castings would keep the
metal hot in the riser for a longer
period.
Grouping of castings to improve yield
 Casting Yield
• All the metal that is used while pouring is not finally ending up as a casting.
• 
• There will be some losses in the melting.
• There is a possibility that some castings may be rejected because of the presence of
various defects.
• On completion of the casting process, gating system used is removed and remelted to
be used again as a raw material.
• The casting yield is the proportion of the actual casting mass, W, to the mass of metal
poured into the mould, w, expressed as a percentage as follows.

Casting yield =
The higher the casting yield, the higher is the economics of the foundry practice.
Castin yield depends to a great extent on the casting materials and the
complexity of the shape.
Heavily shrink materials have lower casting yields.
Massive and simple shape have higher casting yields compared to small and
complex parts.
Figure: Utilization of the metal in the foundry
Table: Casting Yields
Choke Area
• It is the main control area which
meters the metal flow into the
mould cavity so that the mould
is completely filled within the
calculated pouring time.
• The smallest area that occurs
at the bottom of the sprue is
known as “choke area”.
• Hence, the first element to be
designed in the gating system is
the sprue size and its
proportions.
• The main advantage in having sprue bottom as the choke area is
that proper flow characteristics are established early in the mould.
• Choke area is designed based on Bernoulli’s theorem.
Bernoulli’s equation
• Bernoulli’s theorem states that the total energy head remains
constant at any section and
• the equation from ignoring frictional losses is
•   choke area can be calculated by applying Bernoulli’s
The
equation between 1 and 3, we get.

Where,
Ac = Choke area, mm2 (at section (3))
W = casting mass, kg
t = Pouring time, (seconds)
d = mass density of the molten metal, kg/mm3
g = acceleration due to gravity, mm/s2
H = effective metal head (Sprue height), mm
C = efficiency factor which is a function of the gating system used

The effective sprue height, H of a mould depends on the casting

dimensions and the type of gating used.
 •   effective sprue heads can be calculated using the following
The
relations.
• Top gate, H = h
• Bottom gate,
• Parting gate,

Where,
h = height of sprue
p = height of mould cavity in cope
c = total height of mould cavity
Efficiency factor:
• The efficiency coefficient of the gating system depends on the various
sections that are normally used in a gating system.

• This is the most rigorous way of calculating the efficiency factor, it

may not be necessary to go to this length all the time.
• Average values of the efficiency factor are provided for typical gating
system are provided in the following table, which may be used for
calculating the gating.
Table: Values of loss coefficients for various gate elements
• Though it is preferable to have the choke in the sprue, it may sometimes
be convenient to mould a straight sprue in which case the choke is
provided in the runners.
• The efficiency factors for such systems are provided in the following
table.

• For aluminimum castings, a metal flow rate of 4.044 g/min for 1 mm2 of
sprue area in an unpressurized gating is found to be sufficient for
achieving sound castings.
 Pouring Time
• One of the objectives, for design the gating system is to fill the mould
in the smallest time.
• The time for complete filling of a mould termed as Pouring time, is
a very important criterion for design.
• Too long a pouring time requires a higher pouring temperature.
• Low pouring rate may not permit the complete filling of the mould
cavity in time if the molten metal freezes fast and thus defects like
cold shuts may develop
• Too less a pouring time means turbulent flow in the mould which
leads to mould erosion, rough surface, excessive shrinkages etc.
(makes the casting defect prone).
• It is very necessary to know optimum pouring rate or pouring time for
metals to be cast.
• The pouring time depends on the casting materials, complexity of the
casting, section thickness and casting size.
• The various relations used are not theoretically obtained but established
generally by the practice at various foundries and by experimenters.
• The general considerations for choosing pouring time for grey cast iron
may not be much relevant for steels since they lose heat very fast and
therefore the pouring time should be very less.
• For non ferrous materials, a longer pouring time would be beneficial
since they lose heat slowly and also tend to form dross if metal is
poured too quickly.
• Since the thickness of casting is effected to a great extent, by the ratio
of surface area to volume of the casting, it is an important variable in
calculating the optimum pouring time in addition to the mass of the
casting itself.
• Normally,
  while considering the mass of casting, it may not be
necessary to consider the mass of the gating system.
• However, if gating systems are in comparable size to the actual
casting, it may be desirable to include them for the calculation.

The following are some standard methods to calculate the

pouring time for different casting materials.
(1) Grey cast iron, mass less than 450 Kg.
Pouring time,

Where
T = average section thickness, mm
W = mass of the casting, kg
 •(2)  Grey cast iron, mass greater than 450 kg
Pouring time,

Typical pouring times for cast iron are

Casting mass Pouring time in
seconds
20 kg 6 to 10
100 kg 15 to 30
100 000 kg 60 to 180

 (3)Steel castings
Pouring time, seconds
•  For castings above 450 kg and up to 1000 kg
7.
Pouring time,
• Typical pouring times for castings whose mass is less than 200 kg
and average section thickness of 25 mm are

• Typical pouring rates used for different casting alloys are given in
the following table. The calculated values from any of the above
formulae may be checked from the table.

Table: Typical pouring rates for sand castings

• 
Problem:
• Calculate the optimum pouring time for a casting whose mass
is 20 kg and having an average section thickness of 15 mm.
The materials of the casting are grey cast iron and steel. Take
the fluidity of iron as 28 inches.

Solution:
Grey cast iron,
Since mass is less than 450 Kg.
Pouring time,
•Steel,
 
• Pouring time, seconds
seconds
• 
Problem2: Calculate the optimum pouring time for a casting
whose mass is 100 kg and a thickness of 25 mm. Fluidity of iron
is 32 inches. Calculate both for cast iron and steel.
Solution:
Grey cast iron
Pouring time,

Steel
 Pouring time, seconds

  = 16.429 seconds
Example 3:
For the casting shown in the Figure, which is to be
made in cast iron, calculate the choke area.
• 
Solution:

Assuming a composition factor of 4.0 and a pouring temperature of 1300 oC,

the fluidity, obtained is 22 inches.

How to calculate fluidity?

The fluidity spiral length in cm can be estimated by means of the following

empirical relation:
Fluidity,
Where T = pouring temperature, oC
•• Pouring
  time,

• Calculate the effective sprue height. Assuming a top gating system

with 100 mm cope height, effective sprue height = 100 mm.
• Select efficiency factor C from Table, assuming that gating system
is pressurized and consists of two runners with four in-gates;
C = 0.73.

Assuming the density of the liquid metal =

•  Choke Area,

= 366.648 mm2
• In a pressurized gating system, the choke is located
in in-gates, with four ingates, the in-gate area of
each is 90 mm2,
• assuming rectangular cross sections for in-gates, the
ingate dimensions would be 15×6 mm.