Elimination of cracks in stainless steel casings via 3D printed sand molds with an internal topology structure.

The important supporting component in a gas turbine is the casing, which has the characteristics of large size, complex structure, and thin wall. In the context of existing 3DP sand casting processes, casting crack defects are prone to occur. This leads to an increase in the scrap rate of casings, causing significant resource wastage. Additionally, the presence of cracks poses a significant safety hazard after the casings are put into service. The generation of different types of crack defects in stainless steel casings is closely related to casting stress and the high-temperature concession of the sand mold. Therefore, the types and causes of cracks in stainless steel casing products, based on their structural characteristics, were systematically analyzed. Various sand molds with different internal topology designs were printed using the 3DP technology to investigate the impact of sand mold structures on high-temperature concession. The optimal sand mold structure was used to cast casings, and the crack suppression effect was verified by analyzing its eddy current testing results. The experimental results indicate that the skeleton structure has an excellent effect on suppressing cracks in the casing. This research holds important theoretical and engineering significance in improving the quality of casing castings and reducing production costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]