Assessment of Locust Bean Pod Extract for Foundry Core Making

Abstract

This paper reports the experimental results on the use of locust bean pod extract as core binder in the foundry industry. Binders appropriate for foundry cores must not only hold the sand grains together, but must also be adequately resistant to high temperature, so as to avoid collapse before the metal solidifies, but after solidification and cooling, they must be able to collapse completely allowing easy removed from the casting. The Locust Bean Pod (Parkia biglobosa) is a waste material that is normally discarded after the seeds had been harvested. Results of the properties of cores produced with the locust bean pod extract as binder showed baking strength of 510 kN/m², green compression strength of 74 N/mm², bulk density of 1840 kg/m³, green permeability of 100 perm unit, moisture content of 4.6%, mouldability index  of 24 and 45% flowability. The results obtained showed that the locust bean pod extract could serve as an effective binder of high core strength for core making process.