TO INVESTIGATE THE INFLUENCE OF THE GRANULOMETRIC & MINERALOGICAL COMPOSITION OF FOUNDRY SANDS ON THEIR PROPERTIES

Abstract

Foundry sands normally consist of a mixture of silica sand grains (SiO2), a suitable binder which is usually a form of clay, water, and some times other addit- Iona. The granulometric and mineralogical composition of the grain, i.e., of the actual sand, determines to a great extent its behaviour in production. The present work has been carried out to invest-igate the effects of sand grain size, its distribution and shape on the physical properties of bentonite bonded sands. The sands tested were Hardwar sand, with subangular to rounded grains; white silica sand with sub-angular grains and yellow silica sand with angular grains. The physical properties studied include the green density, the green strength, the permeability , flowability and shatter index. Correlation has been obtained between the grain size, shape and grain size distribution and the diff-erent properties of the sands.