SFSA Research Reports

SFSA Research Reports Back to 1944

Summary reports include condensed reports on research findings and, where available, data subsequently developed on the following subjects.

SFSA member companies are provided with a full-text searchable CD containing the following library of SFSA Research Reports. SFSA members who do not have the CD should contact SFSA to obtain another copy of it.

Carbon & Low Alloy Research Reports

SFSA members can download any of these reports.
SFSA members who do not have the report library CD should contact SFSA for a copy of it rather than attempt to download all of the files individually.
Please note that SFSA Research Reports are not generally available to non-members, other than Report 94A & B which are available to non-members in the Free Publications section.

No.	Title
1	S-Curves for use in Heat Treatment (Aug. 1944) (1.1MB PDF)
2	Relation of Impact Strength in Hardness, Ductility and Strength of Cast Steels at Normal and Low Temperatures (Oct. 1944) (778kB PDF)
3	Mechanical Properties of Low Alloy Steels (Dec. 1944) (1.3MB PDF)
4	Low Ductility and Porosity Due to Hydrogen and Nitrogen Part I - Review of Literature (Feb. 1945) (426kB PDF)
5	Impact Strength of Alloy Cast Steels (Mar. 1945) (713kB PDF)
6	Critical Dimensions for Necked-Down Risers (Apr. 1945) (680kB PDF)
7	Core Oils and Binders (May 1945) (1.8MB PDF)
8	Low Temperature Ceramic Glazes as Mold Washes (July 1945) (446kB PDF)
9	Deoxidation Methods on Impact Properties (April 1946) (631kB PDF)
10	Austenite Grain Size of Cast Steels (Nov. 1946) (1.6MB PDF)
11	Necked-Down Risers for Production (Mar. 1947) (825kB PDF)
12	The Effect of Homogenization on Cast Steels (May 1947) (803kB PDF)
13	Riser Efficiency - Part I (July 1947) (1.1MB PDF)
14	Effect of Hydrogen and Nitrogen on the Ductility and Porosity of Cast Steels - Part II (Sept. 1947) (1.6MB PDF)
15	The Influence of Microstructure on the Mechanical Properties of Cast Steels (Dec. 1947) (1.5MB PDF)
16	Weldability of Carbon-Manganese Steels (Feb. 1948) (422kB PDF)
17	Reproductibility of Results of Tensile Tests on Specimens Prepared from Cast Steel Coupons (May 1948) (217kB PDF)
18	An Investigation of the Surface Finish of Steel Castings (Aug. 1948) (471kB PDF)
19	Dendritic and As-Cast Structures (Oct. 1948) (709kB PDF)
20	Pressure Feeding (Dec. 1948) (496kB PDF)
21	Flow of Molten Steel in Sand Molds (Aug. 1949) (1.6MB PDF)
22	Control of Solidification by the Use of Various Molding Materials (Jan. 1950) (971kB PDF)
23	Sand Reclamation (April 1950) (1.9MB PDF)
24	An Evaluation of Riser Compounds (Aug. 1950) (688kB PDF)
25	Part II - The Flow of Molten Steel in Sand Molds (Jan. 1951) (1.5MB PDF)
26	Metal Removal in the Cleaning of Steel Castings (Sept. 1951) (1.1MB PDF)
27	The Machinability of Cast Steels (Aug. 1952) (1.5MB PDF)
28	Boron Treated Cast Steels (Feb. 1953) (1.8MB PDF)
29	Deoxidation and Desulphurization of Cast Steels with Rare-earth Metals (May 1953) (614kB PDF)
30	Determination of the Factors Influencing Riser-efficiency - Part II, The Distance Risers Will Feed Uniformly Thick Sections (Sept. 1953) (881kB PDF)
31	The Performance of Whirl-Gate with Liquid Steel (Dec. 1953) (315kB PDF)
32	The Effect of Rare-earth Metals on Cast Steels (April 1954) (1.4MB PDF)
33	Evaluation of Various Molding Refractories for Casting Steel (Dec. 1954) (520kB PDF)
34	The Shell Molding Process for Plain Carbon and Low Alloy Steel Castings (Aug. 1955) (872kB PDF)
35	Fatigue Properties of Comparable Cast and Wrought Steels (Oct. 1955) (991kB PDF)
36	Blast Cleaning of Steel Castings (Feb. 1956) (1.5MB PDF)
37	The Machinability of Steel Casting Surfaces (Aug. 1956) (864kB PDF)
38	Elements of Design for Prevention of Hot Tearing in Steel Castings (Feb. 1957) (1.2MB PDF)
39	A Study of Deoxidation and Desulphurization of Cast Steels (July 1957) (1.2MB PDF)
40	The Significance of Liquid Limit in Evaluating Steel Foundry Bentonites (Dec. 1957) (741kB PDF)
41	The Effect of Heat Treatment Variables on the Toughness of Cast Steels (June 1958) (3.5MB PDF)
42	Sodium Silicate-Carbon Dioxide Inorganic Bonds for Molds and Cores (Sept. 1958) (709kB PDF)
43	The Effect of Deoxidation Variables on the Toughness of Cast Steels (May 1959) (885kB PDF)
44	Studies of the Design of Steel Castings and Steel Weldments as Related to Methods of Their Manufacture (July 1959) (1.2MB PDF)
45	Packing of Steel Foundry Sands (Nov. 1960) (381kB PDF)
46	Elements of Design for Prevention of Hot Tearing in Steel Castings Part III - Joining of Stress Active Sections (Dec. 1960) (332kB PDF)
47	The Development of Effective Bentonite Clay Bonds for Steel Foundry Sands (Jan. 1961) (377kB PDF)
48	An Investigation of Factors Producing the Ceroxide Defect on Steel Castings - Part I - Composition and Sources (Feb. 1961) (639kB PDF)
49	Tolerances for Steel Castings (April 1961) (Revised Jan. 1965) (2.8MB PDF)
50	The Distance Risers Feed Uniformly Thick 4 to 12 Inch Cast Steel Sections (Aug. 1961) (627kB PDF)
51	The use of Exothermic Pads to Increase the Riser Feeding Distance in Steel Castings - Part I - Padding Horizontally and Vertically Cast Plate Sections (Feb. 1962) (512kB PDF)
52	An Investigation of Factors Producing the Ceroxide Defect on Steel Castings - Part II - Controlling the Occurrence of Ceroxide by Gating and Trapping (July 1962) (606kB PDF)
53	Inorganic Bonds for Steel Casting Molds - An Investigation of Colloidal Silica (Aug. 1962) (328kB PDF)
54	An Investigation of Factors Producing the Ceroxide Defect on Steel Castings - Part III - Commercial Casting Plant Trials (July 1963) (1MB PDF)
55	Development of a Sodium Silicate Binder for Steel Foundry Sand Molds (Nov. 1963) (406kB PDF)
56	Properties of Thick Section Steel Castings (Oct. 1964) (2.5MB PDF)
57	Vacuum Degassing for Steel Castings (May 1965) (463kB PDF)
58	The Lateral Feeding of Risers for Steel Castings (Aug. 1965) (356kB PDF)
59	Desulphurization Prior to the Boil (Oct. 1965) (352kB PDF)
60	Further Investigations on Sodium Silicate-CO2 Binder for Molds (Dec. 1965) (561kB PDF)
61	Silicon Metal Fines Used for Setting Sodium Silicate Bonded Steel Foundry Molds (Jan. 1966) (319kB PDF)
62	Efficiency of Blast Cleaning (April 1966) (287kB PDF)
63	The Effect of Gating Design on the Surface Quality of Steel Castings (Oct. 1966) (496kB PDF)
64	Atmospheric Corrosion of Carbon and Low Alloy Cast Steels (March 1967) (438kB PDF)
65	Refractory Facing Materials for Steel Foundry Molds (June 1967) (647kB PDF)
66	Determination of Metal Taper to Produce Radiographic Soundness in Uniform Cast Steel Sections (July 1967) (156kB PDF)
67	The Use of Exothermic Pads to Increase the Riser Feeding Distance in Steel Castings (Aug 1967) (524kB PDF)
68	Reverse Slag Process (Nov. 1967) (332kB PDF)
69	The Effect of Chemical Additives at the Mold-Metal Interface (Jan. 1968) (426kB PDF)
70	High Purity Alumina Ladle Linings (March 1968) (360kB PDF)
71	The Effect of Sulfur and Phosphorus on the Dynamic Properties of Cast Steel (Oct. 1968) (811kB PDF)
72	Fluid Sand Process for Steel Castings (Dec. 1968) (688kB PDF)
73	The Search for Cause and Effect Relations (Dec. 1970) (360kB PDF)
74	The Effect of Cold Setting Binders on Casting Surfaces (May 1971) (524kB PDF)
75	The Nil Ductility Transition Temperature of Cast Steels (Aug. 1971) (999kB PDF)
76	Survey of New Methods of Cleaning Steel Castings - CaC12 Conditioning (Dec. 1971) (901kB PDF)
77	The Flow of Liquid Steel in Molds (April 1972) (487kB PDF)
78	Unusual Ways to Reduce the Cost of Surface Defects (May 1973) (725kB PDF)
79	Refractory Facings for Molds (June 1973) (381kB PDF)
80	The Toughness of Cast Steels NDTT, Charpy V-notch and Dynamic Tear Tests (May 1974) (1.4MB PDF)
81	Plane Strain Fracture Toughness of Cast Steels (Feb. 1975) (1.1MB PDF)
82	Brittle, Rock Candy Type Fracture - Cause and Cures (Sept. 1975) (418kB PDF)
83	Evaluation of Riser Feeding Aids (July 1977) (410kB PDF)
84	Dimensional Tolerances (Aug. 1977) (692kB PDF)
85	Fatigue Behavior of Cast Steel - Effects of Shot Peening, Carburization and Decarburization (Jan. 1978) (631kB PDF)
86	Machine Assisted Finishing of Steel Castings (April 1978) (721kB PDF)
87	Surface Contamination of Steel Castings from Furan and Phenolic No-Bake Binders (May 1979) (655kB PDF)
88	Cement Binders for Steel Castings Production (May 1980) (655kB PDF)
89	Whirlgates for Large Steel Castings (Sept. 1980) (287kB PDF)
90	Shortened Cycle Heat Treatment of Cast Steel (Feb. 1981) (377kB PDF)
91	Contamination of Steel Castings from Riser Sleeve and Topping Materials with Reference to Under-riser Cracking (Dec. 1981) (147kB PDF)
92	The Inmold Deoxidation of Steel Castings (March 1982) (459kB PDF)
93	Toughness of Heavy Sectioned Cast Steel for Arctic Service (April 1982) (1.8MB PDF)
94A	Fatigue and Fracture Toughness of Five Carbon and Low Alloy Cast Steels at Room or Low Climatic Temperatures (Oct. 1982) (2.1MB PDF) - Available to Non-Members
94B	Fatigue and Fracture Toughness of Five Carbon or Low Alloy Cast Steels at Roomor Low Climatic Temperatures (May 1983) (475kB PDF) - Available to Non-Members
95	Evaluating the Effects of Quenching Variables on Hardening of Steel (Jan. 1984) (1.3MB PDF)
95A	Evaluation of the Effects of Quenching Variables on Hardening Steel (May '85) (688kB PDF)
96	Weldability of Cast Carbon and Low Alloy Steels - Effect of Microstructure and Hydrogen Induced HAZ Cracking Susceptibility (Jan. 1985) (598kB PDF)
97	Ladle Desulfurization of Acid Melted Cast Steel (Feb. 1985) (614kB PDF)
98	Filtration of Liquid Steel (May 1986) (414kB PDF)
99	Detecting Aluminum Nitride Grain Boundary Embrittlement in Cast Steel (Nov. 86) (389kB PDF)
100	Development of Casting Technology to Allow Direct Use of Steel Castings in High Speed Machining Lines (May 1987) (672kB PDF)
101	Intercritical Heat Treatment of C-Mn and 8630 Type Cast Steels (July 1987) (897kB PDF)
102A	The Behavior of Iron Oxide as an Additive to No-bake Sands for the Reduction of Casting Defects (July 1990) (319kB PDF)
103	Effects of Melt Practice, Core Binder, and Core Density on Hot Tearing of Cast Steel (January 1991) (319kB PDF)
104	Ladle Treating, Pouring and Gating for the Production of Clean Steel Castings (January 1991) (729kB PDF)
105	Role of As-Cast Microstructure in the Development of Properties in Heat Treated Cast Steels (June 1991) (647kB PDF)
106	Clean Cast Steel Technology (January 1994) (1.5MB PDF)
107	Properties and Processing of High Strength Low Alloy (HSLA) Cast Steels (March 1994) (2.3MB PDF)
108	Clean Cast Steel Technology (September 1995) (745kB PDF)
109	Initial Study of the Dimensional Variability of Production Steel Castings (September 1995) (1.1MB PDF)
110	Development of a Methodology to Predict and Prevent Leaks Caused by Microporosity in Steel Castings (November 2001) (1.6MB PDF)
111	Development of New Feeding Distance Rules Using Casting Simulation (2004) (11.3B PDF)
112	Metal Penetration in Sand Molds for Steel Casting (July 2002) (8.9MB PDF)
113	Fillability of Thin-Wall Steel Castings (July 2004) (1MB PDF)
114	Pouring Stream Shrouding Trials (January 2006) (9.8MB PDF)

High Alloy Research Reports

No.	Title
A-75	Hot-Cracking of CN-7M (March 1984) (676kB PDF)
A-78- 79	Effects of Nitrogen Additions on CF-3 and CF-8 Stainless Steels (May 1985) (733kB PDF)
A-82	Sensitization Behavior of Cast Stainless Steels Subject to Weld Repair (August 1984) (3.1MB PDF)
A-85	The Role of Nitrogen in the Corrosion Behavior of Cast Austenitic and Duplex Stainless Steels (January 1988) (692kB PDF)
A-91	D.C. Plasma-Arc Refining (January 1992) (197kB PDF)
A-92	Development of Database Design Rules For Cast, High Alloy Steel Components - Final Report (3.7MB PDF)
A-93	Improved Process Procedures for Upgrading and Repair of High Alloy Stainless Steel Castings - Duplex Stainless Steels (March 2001) (3.3MB PDF)
A-94	Ferrite Measurement in Austenitic and Duplex Stainless Steel Castings (March 2001) (1.3MB PDF)
A-95	Systematic Microstructural & Corrosion Performance Evaluation of CK3MCuN & CK3MN High Molybdenum Stainless Steel Castings (March 2002) (15.5MB PDF)

Special Reports

No.	Title
1	Hot-Tear Defects in Steel Castings (March 1970) (668kB PDF)
2	Scab, Buckle and Rat-tail Defects on Steel Castings (April 1970) (2MB PDF)
3	Ceroxide Defects in Steel Castings (April 1970) (406kB PDF)
4	Adhering-sand Defects on Steel Castings (May 1970) (791kB PDF)
5	Eroded-sand Defects on Steel Castings (Sept. 1970) (389kB PDF)
6	Pinhole Defects in Steel Castings (Sept. 1970) (545kB PDF)
7	A Computer Program for Calculating Feeding Distance in Cast Steel Plates Programmer's Reference Manual, F-plate (Oct. 1970 - distributed on request only) (393kB PDF)
8	A Literature Survey of Specialty Sands: Chromite, Zircon, Olivine and Aluminum Silicate (May 1972) (643kB PDF)
9	Management and Process Controls (July 1973) (1.2MB PDF)
10	A Review of Intermediate and High Strength Steels - Their Properties and Applications (Sept. 1974) (1.4MB PDF)
11	A Review of Welding Cast Steels and Its Effect on Fatigue and Toughness Properties (Dec. 1974) (1.4MB PDF)
12	The Morphology of Brittle Interangular Fracture of Steel Castings and the Effects of Processing Variables on Its Occurrence (Sept. 1975) (2.6MB PDF)
13	Evaluation of Exothermic and Insulating Materials - A Literature Review (March 1977) (1.1MB PDF)
14	Literature Review of Discontinuities in Steel Centrifugal Castings (May 1977) (934kB PDF)
15	Survey of Cut-Off Techniques for Foundry Cleaning Rooms (June 1977) (401kB PDF)
16	Reclamation of No-Bake Organic and Sodium Silicate Sands (Dec. 1978) (750kB PDF)
17	A Literature Survey of Steel Casting Quenching Efficiency (June 1981) (1.2MB PDF)
18	Influence Section Size on the Mechanical Properties of Cast and Wrought Stainless Steels (Oct. 1981) (942kB PDF)
19	A Literature Survey of Intercritical Heat Treatment (March 1982) (586kB PDF)
20	Literature Review of Martensitic Stainless Steels (March 1982) (1.1MB PDF)
21	Literature Review - Weldability of Cast Steels (March 1982) (799kB PDF)
22	Gating and Risering - A Summary of Technical & Operating Conference Papers (Feb. 1984) (2.6MB PDF)
23	Making Quality Steel Castings: A Review of 20 Years of SFSA Literature (March 1984) (1.6MB PDF)
24	The Weldability of High Alloy Cast and Wrought Materials: A Literature Review (Dec. 1989) (578kB PDF)
25	Review of Deoxidation Practice (March 1990) (492kB PDF)
26	Analysis of Water Modeling as a Means of Studying Air Entrainment and Filter Effectiveness as Steel Castings are Poured (March 1993) (770kB PDF)
27	Metalcasting Lead Time and Cost Reduction - Software Tools (1.8MB PDF)
28	Metalcasting Lead Time and Cost Reduction - Rapid Prototyping (545kB PDF)
29	Assessing and Controlling Casting Dimensional Variability (848kMB PDF)
30	Yield in Steel casting Industry (January 1998) (2MB PDF)
31	Duplex Stainless Steels - A State of the Art Literature Review (March 2001) (2MB PDF)
32	Yield Improvement Case Studies - A collection of cast study reports completed for the Yield Improvement in Steel Castings Project (February 2002) (4.4MB PDF)

Research Foundation Reports

These reports are available for download free of charge below.

No.	Title
A	Studies of the Design of Steel Castings and Steel Weldments as related to methods of Their Manufacture (Castings vs. Weldments - 1959) (2.2MB PDF)
B	Correlation of Destructive Testing of Steel Castings with Stress Analysis and Mechanical Properties (A Summary Rpt. - 1962) (618kB PDF)
C	The Effects of Surface Discontinuities on the Fatigue Properties of Cast Steel Sections (1966) (1.2MB PDF)
D	Impact Properties of Cast Steel Sections with Surface Discontinuities (1967) (1.9MB PDF)
E	The Evaluation of Discontinuities in Commercial Steel Castings by Dynamic Loading to Failure in Fatigue (1967) (2MB PDF)
F	Fatigue of Cast Steels, Part I - A Study of the Notched Effect and the Specimen Design and Loading. Part II - Fractographic Studies of Fatigue and Cast Steels (1967) (1.2MB PDF)
G	The Effect of Internal Shrinkage Discontinuities on the Fatigue and Impact Properties of Cast Steel Sections (1969) (262kB PDF)
H	Review of Welding Cast Steels and its Effects on Fatigue and Toughness (1979) (885kB PDF)

Other Research Reports

SFSA members can download any of these reports.
Please note that these reports are not available to non-members.

Fracture Toughness in Relation to Steel Castings Design and Application (1979) (995kB PDF)	Free
Ultrasonic Testing of Steel Castings (1976) (1.7MB PDF)	Free

Technical Service Reports

No.	Title
101	Observations of the Effect of Nitrogen on Austenite Stability in CF-3 and CF-8 Stainless Steel (Mar. 1990) (295kB PDF)
102	Results of Examination of 7 Carbon Steel Casting Defects (Apr. 1990) (2.6MB PDF)
103	Identification of Porosity and Causes of Inclusions in Induction Melted 440 C Stainless Plate Castings (Aug. 1990) (2.8MB PDF)
104	Analysis of Inclusion Sources in Bars Cast from Acid Melted Carbon Steel (Aug. 1990) (1.2MB PDF)
105	Microstructural Analysis of Hot Tears in a WCB Steel Valve Body (Sept. 1990) (1.1MB PDF)
106	Possible Localized Corrosion of A216 WCB Cast Carbon Steel in HF Acid Service (Dec. 1990) (1.3MB PDF)
107	Microstructural Analysis of Defects in Brake Wheel Housings (Dec. 1991) (1.4MB PDF)
108	Cleanliness of Conventionally Deoxidized and Calcium Treated Low Carbon Steel (Nov. 1991) (2.3MB PDF)
109	There is no report number 109.
110	Microstructural Analysis of Porosity in a WCB Valve Disk (Dec. 1991) (2.5MB PDF)
111	Determining Source of Inclusions on the Cope Surface of a Rack Casting (Jan. 1992) (2.3MB PDF)
112	Weld Cracking of HP-40 Steel (Apr. 1992) (2.2MB PDF)
113	There is no report 113.
114	Refractory Debris in the Cope Surface of a Carbon Steel Casting (Feb. 1993) (1.7MB PDF)
115	Lamination Defect in a WCB Pillow Block (Jan. 1993) (1.8MB PDF)
116	Steel Penetration into a Washed Zircon Core (Feb. 1993) (3.1MB PDF)
117	Black Hole Defect in an AOD Refined, WCB Valve Body (Mar. 1993) (1.9MB PDF)
118	An Examination of Low Impact Toughness Quenched and Tempered Low Alloy Steel (Mar. 1993) (5.2MB PDF)
119	Analysis of a Scab Defect from a WCB Casting (Mar. 1993) (1.6MB PDF)
120	Low Impact Toughness in Thick Section Quenched and Tempered Heavy Section Steel Castings (Jul. 1995) (2.7MB PDF)
121	Evaluation of Cracking and Corrosion Sensitivity of a CN-3MN Casting / SMA Bead-on-Plate Welding using Inconel 112 Electrodes (Apr. 1995) (6.2MB PDF)
122	Failure Analysis of Cast Rudder CG-6MN (Nitronic 50) (Mar. 1995) (1.3MB PDF)
123	Brittle Fracture in a WCB Steel Casting (Jul. 1995) (1.4MB PDF)
124	Analysis of Defects of the Bored Surface of Six 1025 Carbon Steel Castings (Aug. 1995) (4.7MB PDF)
125	Mechanical Properties of ASTM Cast Equivalents to Wrought Product Designations (Mar 1996) (1.2MB PDF)
126	Ductility Problems - Type II Sulfides (Jun. 2000) (8.5MB PDF)

Surface Comparator Plates

ASTM A802 Surface texture only - 4 plates - Grades A1-A4	These are no longer available from SFSA. Contact Castings Technology International. We do not know of any other supplier.
ASTM A802 - 31 Plate Set Surface texture Nonmetallic inclusions Gas porosity Solidification discontinuties Sand expansion discontinuties Metal inserts Thermally cut surfaces Mechanically prepared surfaces Welded surfaces	These are no longer available from SFSA. Contact Castings Technology International. We do not know of any other supplier.

ASTM A802
Surface texture only - 4 plates - Grades A1-A4

These are no longer available from SFSA.
Contact Castings Technology International.
We do not know of any other supplier.

ASTM A802 - 31 Plate Set

Surface texture
Nonmetallic inclusions
Gas porosity
Solidification discontinuties
Sand expansion discontinuties
Metal inserts
Thermally cut surfaces
Mechanically prepared surfaces
Welded surfaces

These are no longer available from SFSA.
Contact Castings Technology International.
We do not know of any other supplier.