In correspondence dated June 11, 1644, Evangelista Torricelli (1608-1647) described the results of experimental trials, which were used to create the world’s first practical barometer. These principles, demonstrated in Florence, Italy, have been used in casting operations to cause molten 14Kt yellow gold to rise vertically into investment casting molds - against gravitational force - to fill mold cavities. This counter-gravity mold filling method has been used to compare the degrees of mechanical turbulence in liquid metal during mold filling with conventional static pouring and counter-gravity techniques. High-speed data collection methods were used to measure the temperatures within mold cavities at 12 locations at intervals of approximately 0.01 second. Temperature data was collected during mold filling and freezing to acquire information about important events during the investment casting process. Data describes metal velocities at various mold locations, local solidification times, and local temperature gradients. The data is compared with similar information collected by conventional static pouring with vacuum assist.

Author: John C. McCloskey, Dr. Shankar Aithal, Patrick DuBois