Each of six commercial foundry moulding sands at different locations in Lagos beaches had been investigated in previous researches titled “Investigation and comparative analysis of Clay Content, Grain Size and Grain Size Distribution of Foundry Moulding Sands”. The effects of active clay content on amount of binders and A.F.S grain fineness number of each sample on grain size and grain size distribution on green compressive strength, compactability and permeability was determined. The study revealed that Gbelejo silica sand has the best compactability, green strength and permeability properties and therefore most suitable for casting both ferrous and non ferrous metals. With careful selection of binders, moisture content and casting size, the remaining five samples can be used to cast ferrous and non ferrous metals. It was also reported that isolated sand tests give insufficient information on the consistency of foundry sand. This study is therefore a follow up to further confirm the results of the previous researches and it is intended to disseminate information on the sands for application interest of any corporate organization, individual, practitioner, researcher, student, and the general public. The sand samples were subjected to mechanical properties analysis like moisture content, permeability, green strength, shatter index and compactability using standard foundry laboratory equipment to confirm the result of previous researches and ascertain their suitability for casting ferrous and non ferrous metals. Adding 6.0% bentonite, 3.0% coal dust and 3.5% moisture to each silica sand sample it was found that for Ajido, Araromi, Badagry, Epe, Gbelejo and Oworonsoki silica sands the green strength, permeability, shatter index, moistuture content and compactability values fall within the acceptable ranges when compared to the ideal limit. The error bars on bar chart for various tests on each sample are within acceptable limit and the parameters are comparable. The findings also authenticated the results of the earlier research. However, care must be taken in the choice of each silica sand sample for a particular casting material.

Full text: IJEIR_1525_Final.pdf