Effect of Solidification Condition on Secondary Dendrite Arm Spacing of the A357 Alloy under Counter-pressure Casting

The effect of counter-pressure casting parameters on secondary dendrite arm spacing （SDAS） of A357 alloy under different process parameters was studied. Quartz sand mould with chill can strongly decrease the SDAS. Reduced SDAS close to the mould bottom because of chilling was obtained. Pressure seems to have no apparent effect on the SDAS. In order to obtain casts with UTS ≥320 MPa, SDAS must be less than 55 μm, which means a local cooling rate VL≥0.23 ℃ /s.