Reclamation on a large scale of silica sand for steel founding which were until recently dumped after being used only once has met with success in actual practice. After ferrous materials have been magnetically removed from the discharged sand traveling on a belt conveyor, they are passed through a rotating sieve whereby excessively fine or coarse sand are eliminated. Clay is removed by washing the sand with water. The plan of the equipment is shown in an illustration.
Cases where the gas generating in cores is the cause of blow holes in castings are frequent. The pressure of the gas forming in cores during the casting process was therefore studied using the system illustrated in Fig. 1. The pressure becomes a maximum in one to two minutes after the cast. The maximum pressure is influenced much by the size of gas vents and by the permeability of the sand used. Application of a coating on the cores results in a higher pressure but serves to prevent porous castings by causing the gas to find outlets through the cores and not through the molten metal.