Preliminary Study on the Potential of Krueng Mane River Sand for Metal Casting Use

Sand casting is a metal casting process to make a component by pouring molten metal into the sand mold. The casting process, the sand is the fundamental material used for mold making. The sand used is generally silica sand, river sand, mountain sand, and beach sand. The sand for molding must have requirements such as having formability, suitable permeability, good distribution of sand grain size, resistance to high temperatures, suitable binder composition, and sand must be cheap. This study investigated to determine the potential of Krueng Mane river sand in Aceh Indonesia for its possible use for metal casting. The important properties studied are moisture content, total clay content, grain fineness number, and grain shape. Tests are carried out following the standards and procedures defined by the American Foundrymen’s Society (AFS). Results obtained revealed that the river sand has average moisture content of 7.78 %, clay content of 3.20%, and grain fineness number (GFN) of 46. Krueng Mane river sand will be suitable for casting of casting of light steel, heavy grey steel, medium grey iron, and non-ferrous metals, with the addition of binding agent in suitable proportion.