Mindanao State University Iligan Institute of Technology

Department of Metallurgical Engineering

____________________________________________________________________________

ACTIVITY 1: DETERMINATION OF AFS CLAY IN FOUNDRY SAND

By

Nikie B. Alquizar
Angelica B. Alvizo
Christine Joy R. Baguio

A laboratory report
submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the Metallurgical Analysis Course (MET E 112)

Prof. Mercurio I. Espinido, Ph. D.

Adviser

February 15, 2016

I. Abstract
Foundry sand is used to make moulds and cores for the casting process thus
it has to attain certain properties for its efficiency. One of these criteria is the AFS
clay content of the said material. AFS clay is responsible for the bonding of particles
hence vital to the plastic behavior of the product. According to the Unified Soil
Classification System (USCS), foundry sand of clay ranging from 0 to 12% is
acceptable.
Sand sample was obtained from the vicinity using standard sampling
methods and dried. It was then diluted to 1000 L of distilled with standard NaOH
solution that served as dispersing agent. The mixture underwent clay washing that
involved constant stirring and repetitive siphoning until the supernatant was clear to
eliminate AFS clay. The remaining grains were dried and weighed abling
computations of AFS clay present.
From the data gathered during experimentation, 2.42% of AFS clay was
present in the sample thus bracketed inside the tolerable amount of clay in foundry
sand. The researchers then concluded that the sample collected was conventional
for its uses.

II. Experimental Method

Preparation of Sample
A 50 g sample was obtained using standard sampling methods, sieved in 60
mesh and dried in the oven at 100 oC for one hour to remove probable causes of
discrepancies. The dried sand was then weighed and transferred in a 1 L beaker
added with 475 mL of distilled water and 25 mL of standard NaOH solution by
dissolving 30 g NaOH diluted to 1000 mL of distilled water. NaOH served as
dispersing agent to loosen the clay.
Modified AFS Clay Wash Test
The mixture was consistently stirred for 5 minutes to liberate clay particles
from the sand grains. To avoid further errors, sand has to be washed off the stirring

rod into the beaker and filled with distilled water to a height of 6 inches above the
bottom. It was then allowed to settle for ten minutes and siphoned off 5 inches of
supernatant water. This process was repeated until the water was clear to a depth
of 5 inches at the end of the 5 minutes period.
Any particle that did not settle through 5 inches of water in five minutes may
contain active clay, dead clay, silt sea coal, cellulose, cereal, ash, fines and any
other materials that float in water.
Post-Experimental Procedure
The remaining grains were dried and weighed. The difference between the
weight of the dried grains and that of the original dried sample represents AFS clay.

III. Results and Discussions

Table 3.1 Tabular Data for AFS Clay Content Test
Initial Weight,

Dried Weight, W1

Remaining

AFS Clay (%)

Wo (g)
50.0

(g)
48.78

Weight, W2 (g)
47.57

2.42

W 1W 2
48.78 g47.57 g
100 =
100 =2.42
Wo
50.0 g

It was naturally expected to have a lesser remaining weight after the clay
wash (W2) than dried weight of the original sample (W 1), the difference corresponds
to the clay content present in the foundry sand. As collected from the experiment
hence listed above, it was observed that there was an insignificant amount of AFS
clay present in the sample of about 2.42%.

IV. Conclusions

Referring to the analysis of the results, 2.42% of AFS clay was present in the
raw sample which is a tolerable amount for foundry sand soil classification. Based
from Unified Soil Classification System (USCS), silt or clay content can range from 0
to 12%. Thus, it is concluded that the foundry sand sample has a plastic behavior
that is workable in terms of its clay content.

V. References
Scott, Honeyman, American Foundry Society. What Do the Numbers Mean?
Minneapolis: Carpenter Brothers Inc. http://www.afsinc.org/ (Accessed 2016-0215)
Krysiak, Mary Beth. Basic Green Sand Control Program. Modern Casting
Publication, 1994. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/ (Accessed 2016-02-15).
Woodson, Robert Dodge. Concrete Portable Handbook. Wyman Street,
Waltham: Elsevier Inc., 2012.
02-15).

https://books.google.com.ph/ (Accessed 2016-