The aim of this study was to verify the behavior of five brands of NiCr alloys, indicated to porcelain fused to metal restorations, comparing the castability with the ability of reproducing the thin edges of restoration margins. The samples were divided in five groups, each one for one brand, with ten repetitions for castability test and ten for edge reproduction, in a total of 100 specimens. A carbon free phosphate bonded investment was used for all casting procedures. Optical microscopy was used to investigate the microstructure of the specimens obtained with two of the alloys, those which have shown better results. Statistical analysis stated that the commercial brand Tilite showed both better castability and edge reproduction. / O objetivo desta pesquisa foi verificar o desempenho de cinco ligas de níquel-cromo para restaurações de metalocerâmicas, comparando a fluidez com a capacidade de cópia da borda fina das restaurações. Os corpos-de-prova foram divididos em 5 grupos um para cada liga, sendo realizado dez corpos-de-prova para o teste de fluidez e dez corpos-de-prova para o teste da cópia da borda, totalizando 100 corpos-de-prova. Um revestimento de fosfato sem carbono foi usado para todas as inclusões e fundições. Em seguida foram submetidos a microscopia óptica, para se observar a microestrutura das duas ligas que obtiveram os melhores desempenhos. Os resultados, após análise estatística, demonstraram que a liga Tilite apresentou a melhor fluidez e melhor cópia da borda.

Dans une démarche pluridisciplinaire, qui emprunte aussi bien aux sciences humaines et sociales (archéologie, histoire des techniques, réexamen des textes anciens) qu’aux sciences chimiques (science des matériaux, métallurgie expérimentale, chimie analytique), cette recherche vise à reconstituer l’évolution des techniques de fonte à la cire perdue, depuis les plus anciens témoignages de son utilisation à Mehrgarh (Pakistan, 5e millénaire av. J.-C.) jusqu’aux premières grandes statues de bronze dans le monde égéen (fin du VIe, début du Ve s. av. J.-C.).L’étude des objets a parfois nécessité des développements analytiques spécifiques pour pallier à leur très forte altération, comme par exemple l’imagerie de photoluminescence synchrotron. Cela a notamment permis de reconstituer en détail la chaîne opératoire de fabrication de la rouelle de Mehrgarh, l’une des plus anciennes fontes à la cire perdue connue à ce jour. Sur la base de ces résultats, il est suggéré que la fonte à la cire perdue pourrait avoir été inventée pour donner la possibilité aux individus non métallurgistes de créer des objets importants en métal tels que ces amulettes, par le biais du façonnage d’un modèle en cire.Nous montrons que la cire perdue a ensuite été mise à profit pour donner naissance à une nouvelle forme de sculpture, la statuaire de métal. Au prix de parois très épaisses et d’assemblages mécaniques, nous mettons en évidence une première période de production de grandes statues en Mésopotamie pendant la deuxième moitié du 3e millénaire av. J.-C. Après un long hiatus, la grande statuaire métallique renaît de façon spectaculaire pendant la première moitié du 1er millénaire av. J. C., à la fois dans les mondes égyptien, sabéen et égéen. Nous identifions deux innovations importantes responsables de cette renaissance : le procédé indirect et l’assemblage soudé.Des essais de coulabilité effectués en faisant varier la composition de l’alliage et le matériau du moule sont présentés dans la dernière partie de notre travail. En moule de plâtre et avec un fort préchauffage, une coulabilité exceptionnelle a été obtenue pour le bronze à fort taux de plomb, donnant pour la première fois une idée des conditions de coulée nécessaires à l’obtention des parois très minces souvent observées sur les grandes statues antiques. / Following a multidisciplinary approach combining social sciences (archaeology, history of techniques, examination of ancient texts) and chemistry (materials science, experimental metallurgy, analytical chemistry), our research aims to reconstruct the evolution of lost-wax casting techniques, from the earliest evidence of its use in Mehrgarh (Pakistan, 5th millennium BC) to the first large bronze statues in the Aegean (end of the 6th, beginning of the 5th century BC).The archaeological artefacts under study have sometimes required specific analytical developments to overcome their very strong alteration, such as synchrotron photoluminescence imaging. This allowed reconstructing in detail the chaîne opératoire of the Mehrgarh wheel-shaped amulet, one of the oldest lost-wax castings known to date. Based on the results thus obtained, it has been suggested that lost-wax casting might have been invented to give non-metalworkers the opportunity to create important metal objects such as amulets by simply shaping a wax model.We show that lost-wax casting was afterwards used to create a new form of sculpture, namely metal statuary. At the cost of very thick metal walls and mechanical assemblies, this led to an early production step of large statues in Mesopotamia during the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. After a long hiatus, large metal statuary reappeared spectacularly during the first half of the 1st millennium BC, both in the Egyptian, the Sabean and the Aegean areas. We were able to identify two important innovations responsible for this renaissance: the indirect process and the flow fusion welding.Castability tests carried out by varying the composition of the alloy and the material of the mould are presented in the last part of our work. An exceptional castability was obtained for highly-leaded bronze in plaster mould and with a high preheating. For the first time some insights are thus drawn on the casting conditions necessary to obtain the very thin walls often observed on large metal statues during the Classical Antiquity.

The present-day automotive industry is striving to design lightweight components by optimizing the design for minimization of weight. The topology optimization is used widely for the design of lightweight components. The casting process is time and cost effective for mass production and widely adopted within the automotive industry. Generally, castability is not considered in the weight optimization process. These weight optimized components are optimized once again in the later stage for cost-effectiveness in the casting process. The modified design usually weighs more than the weight optimized design. The design can be optimized for weight and castability simultaneously in the early stage of design and this thesis report presents an optimization process for the same. The optimization process presents effective usage of the topology optimization to design lightweight components without compromising castability. It is a three-step process where thetopology optimization is integrated with solidification simulation along with DFX -castability evaluation. The reliability of the conceptual design is predicted based on the mapping of solidification and stress hotspots. The process is implemented to design three components of Scaniatruck and weight is reduced by 15% to 25%. / Dagens bilindustri strävar efter att utforma lätta komponenter genom att optimera designen för att minimera vikt. Topologioptimering används i stor utsträckning för design av lätta komponenter. Gjutningsprocessen är tids-och kostnadseffektiv för massproduktion och allmänt vedertagen inom bilindustrin. Generellt ingår inte gjutbarhet i viktoptimeringsprocessen. Dessa viktoptimerade komponenter optimeras igen i ett senare skede för kostnadseffektivitet vid massproduktion. De flesta gånger är viktoptimerade koncept modifierade för att erhålla kostnadseffektivitet vid gjutning genom att lägga till extra vikt. I den här rapporten presenteras enoptimeringsdriven designprocess för att få pålitlig lättviktsgjutbar design. Optimeringsprocessen presenterar effektiv användning av topologioptimering för att utformalätta komponenter utan att kompromissa med gjutbarheten. Det är en trestegsprocess där topologioptimering integreras med förstärkningssimulering tillsammans med utvärdering avDFX-sårbarhet. Tillförlitligheten hos den konceptuella designen förutses baserat på kartläggningav stelningen och spänninggskoncentrationer. Processen är implementerad för att optimera utformningen av tre komponenter i Scania-lastbilar och vikten minskas med 15% till 25%.