Journal of Materials Processing Technology 182 (2007) 580–587

An experimental investigation on dimensional stability

of injected wax patterns of gas turbine blades
S.A.M. Rezavand, A.H. Behravesh ∗
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tarbiat Modarres University, Jalal-e-Al-e-Ahmad ExpWay, Tehran, Iran
Received 17 October 2005; received in revised form 20 September 2006; accepted 26 September 2006

Abstract
An experimental study on dimensional stability of simplified waxed models of gas turbine blade is presented. Gas turbine blades, made of a super
alloy, have narrow dimensional and geometrical tolerances. Blades are manufactured by investment casting process consisting of wax injection,
ceramic coating, wax removal, metal casting, and finishing. The dimensional accuracy of wax injection step introduces a great influence on the
final blade dimension and thus on finishing process. The focus of this experimental work was on the injection stage, investigating the effects
of processing parameters and blade geometrical features on the shrinkage of critical dimensions. To reduce the complexity of the analysis and
mold manufacture, two designed models were extracted from the blade geometry. A mold was manufactured with two cavities (for two models).
Injection temperature and holding time were chosen as variable processing parameters. The results indicated that the effect of blade curvature and
non-uniform thickness are noticeably different. The effect of the holding time was found to be more dominant than that of the injection temperature.
© 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Gas turbine blades; Injection molding; Wax pattern; Shrinkage

1. Introduction
Gas turbines transform heat energy to mechanical one, hav-
ing applications in industrial sectors such as pumping, filtration,
refinement, power plant, and transportation. The critical com-
ponents of a gas turbine are blades consisting of rotor blades
and stationary vanes. Blades function under severe service con-
ditions such as high temperature, high mechanical stress, high
heat fatigue, and corrosive environment. Gas turbine blades have
close dimensional and geometrical tolerance, and are made of
super alloys and manufactured by investment casting process.
This process is used for producing high quality, net-shape com-
plex parts. It is especially used when, due to the part geometry,
application of other processes such as forging and machining
are not, economically or practically, feasible.
The major steps in investment casting process are: injec-
tion molding of a wax pattern, ceramic coating, removing wax,
drying, and metal casting, followed by grinding. Each step intro-
duces a certain effect on the final part dimensions, with wax
injection and metal casting having the major influences.
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +98 21 88011001x3392; fax: +98 21 88005040.
E-mail address: amirhb@modares.ac.ir (A.H. Behravesh).
The materials, used for pattern injection, must exhibit charac-
teristics such as low viscosity, adequate solid strength, low dash,
low shrinkage, high stability, chemical resistance to ceramic
molding materials, ability to join, and not hazardous to health.
Waxes are materials of choice introducing above characteristics.
The final dimensions of wax pattern, in the injection step,
are affected by: (i) type of wax; (ii) geometry and (iii) process
parameters.
On the other hand, the mere knowledge of the values of lin-
ear (or volumetric) shrinkage of employed wax is not sufficient
to predict the resultant final dimensions [1]. Geometry and pro-
cessing parameters have also considerable effects on the final
dimensions.
Waxes behave similar to semi-crystalline thermoplastic poly-
mers. Besides, they have distinguished characteristics such as:
(i) a very low melting point (below 100 ◦ C); (ii) a low heat con-
ductivity; (iii) sensitivity to a high heating rate.
Wax injection process consists of the following steps: (i) melt-
ing wax solids in a oil-heated vessel, (ii) conveying the melt into
the injection barrel, (iii) injecting the melt into the mold using
a ram injection machine, (iv) cooling the wax, and finally (v)
ejecting the wax pattern (usually followed by calibrating step).
If calibration is required to achieve desired dimensions, either
the cycle time is considerably increased or more fixtures are

0924-0136/$ – see front matter © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2006.09.029
 S.A.M. Rezavand, A.H. Behravesh / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 182 (2007) 580–587
Fig. 1. Schematic of wax injection machine.
required which, in any case, increases the total cost investment.
The schematic of a typical wax injection machine is illustrated
in Fig. 1.
The degree of the influence of the processing parame-
ters on the final dimensions, can be affected by the complex
blade geometry. Hence, it is of research interest to investi-
gate interacting effects of geometrical features and processing
parameters.
The results may introduce guidance to a cost-effective design
or eliminate of the calibrating fixture.
2. Background
Some research studies on wax behavior, both experimental
and numerical, have been reported.
Sabau and Viswanathan [2] have introduced the first com-
puter program to simulate the behavior of an industrial wax
called “CeritaTM 29-51”.
Bonilla et al. [3] proposed a methodology to predict wax pat-
tern shrinkage in investment casting process, using a computer-
aided heat transfer simulation and experimentally derived factors
for injection parameters. They used a water emulsified wax type
A7-TC2/E.
Horacek and Lubos [1] studied the influence of injection
parameters on the dimensional stability of wax patterns pro-
duced by injection molding process. They found an inter-
relationship between various injection parameters and their
dependency on some dimensional parameters. Geometry of the
parts was similar to a cross shape.
Yarlagadda and Hock [4] determined the accuracy of wax
patterns produced by hard (polyurethane mold) and soft (RTV
mold) tooling and optimized the injection parameters used in a
low-pressure injection molding. The geometry of the parts was
similar to H-shape.
Previous researches have mainly focused on the simple
shapes of interest geometries. The given results can be used,
to a certain extent, for some applications. However, due to the
noticeable effect of part geometry on final dimensions, the data
extrapolation from a basic geometry must be cautiously applied
for other shapes, especially when the application is of great accu-
racy and complexity, such as turbine blades.
581
3. Problem statement and objectives
As mentioned earlier, the focus of this research was to study
the effect of wax injection processing parameters on the final
dimensions and (dimensional) stability of the produced wax
pattern in relation to the critical blade geometry. It must be men-
tioned that the geometry has a great influence on how to apply
dimensional corrections (here shrinkage factor).
It is technically and scientifically inappropriate to apply a sin-
gle shrinkage factor to all part dimensions. Usually for thermo-
plastic polymers, the material manufacturers introduce a range
of shrinkage factor. This is because the processing parameters
such as holding pressure, holding time, and part thickness have
significant influences on the shrinkage, which can be explained
by pressure–volume–temperature (PVT) diagram. Besides, part
constraints such as cores and inserts could have considerable
effects on the final dimensions, at various cooling time. Also,
non-uniform shrinkage could promote warpage, which is a well-
known major defect in a molding process.
Turbine blades have complex geometries. Thus, applying
the results from simple geometries to a complex shape may
not be fruitful. On the other hand, due to this complexity,
obtaining an inter-relationship between any processing parame-
ter and a specific geometrical feature is obviously difficult, if not
impossible.
The geometry of a typical turbine blade is shown in Fig. 2.
In a turbine blade, non-uniform thickness of airfoil, thick root,
curvature, and twist are critical features. To decouple the effects
of geometry, it is proposed to examine models consisting of
geometrical features close to those of real application. In this
research, three characteristics of turbine blades, (excluding
twist) and their inter-relationship with the processing parameters
and dimensional stability were experimentally investigated. The
twist feature was not included due to difficulty of machining.
Hence, two models were designed and a mold was manufac-
tured to produce waxed patterns. One design models airfoil
curvature and the other design models non-uniform thickness
(both consisting of the thick root). Therefore, the degree of
the influence of each feature on the final dimensions could be
examined.
Fig. 2. Configuration of a turbine blade.
582 S.A.M. Rezavand, A.H. Behravesh / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 182 (2007) 580–587

Table 1
Experimental parameters used for molding
Injection temperature (◦ C) Holding time (min)

60 1
64 2
68 3
72 4

Table 2
Experimental constant parameters
Pressure 55 bar
Mold temperature 10 ± 2 ◦ C
Room temperature 27 ± 3 ◦ C
Injection course 10 cm
Holder pressure 80 bar

Design TP1 covers the airfoil lunate (curvature) and design TP2 covers the
thickness difference of the airfoil (from its minimum value in the leading edge
to the maximum value at about two-third of the airfoil width, followed by a
decrease in the thickness to the trailing edge). For simplicity, cubic root and
uniform airfoil width were consisted in the designs. As for dimensions, the first
stage of GE Frame5 was chosen to design the models.

4.2. Experimental equipment and procedure

Fig. 3. Designed pattern TP1 with given dimensions.
4. Methods and materials
4.1. Design of patterns
As mentioned earlier, the blade geometry was decoupled in two models
called: “TP1” and “TP2” (Figs. 3 and 4).
A two-cavity injection mold was manufactured to produce both patterns.
The mold was made of AL5050 with 88 HB hardness. Fig. 5 shows two halves
of the molds. The gates, of the same design and dimension, were machined at
the middle of the roots.
In the present research, the influences of injection temperature and holding
time were studied. Previous researches have shown that injection temperature
and holding time have the most influences on the final dimensions [1,4]. Because
waxes are injected in low pressure, injection pressure has no disputable effect
on the dimensions, except in parts with ceramic core or narrow cross-sections
[1].
The wax patterns were then produced at the injection conditions specified
in Table 1. Other parameters were maintained constant in all experiments as
specified in Table 2. The used wax type was Filled Wax B417 (DUSSEK C.) with
properties given in Table 3. Three samples of each experimental point were taken
and measured, to deliver confident results. After injection, the patterns were
placed on the root for 24 h as shown in Fig. 6. The corresponding dimensions,
as shown in Fig. 7, of the wax patterns were measured using CMM. Six sections
of the patterns, at the airfoil and the root, were measured. Cloud points of CMM
were then produced to simulate the desired sections and to extract the critical
dimensions, as described below (Fig. 8):

• Dim a: airfoil chord length (Fig. 9). Chord length is one of the most important
dimensions in turbine blades, because in the grinding step, the blades are
clamped at the leading and trailing edges of the airfoil.
• Dim b: the lateral deviation of the second and third sections with respect to
the first section (Fig. 10). This deviation appears rather in all turbine blades.
• Dim c: root middle thickness (Fig. 11)
• Dim d: airfoil length.

Table 3
Characteristics of wax used in the experiments
Name Filled wax Viscosity at 80 ◦ C 1000 cPa
B417

Producer REMET Filler quantity 38%

Filler type Polystyrene Penetration at 25 ◦ C 3 dmm
Melting point 75 ◦ C Dash quantity Maximum 0.03%
Conglition point 61 ◦ C Color Green
Fig. 4. Designed pattern TP2 with given dimensions.
 S.A.M. Rezavand, A.H. Behravesh / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 182 (2007) 580–587 583

Fig. 5. Pattern injection mold: (a) top half and (b) lower half.

Fig. 6. Wax patterns were stored for 24 h as shown after injection.

Fig. 8. Cloud points extracted from CMM data for: (a) TP1 and (b) TP2.
The corresponding dimensions on the mold were also measured using CMM
to calculate shrinkages.

5. Results and discussion
The experimental results are shown in Figs. 12–19.
Figs. 12–14 depict the chord length variation with holding time
at various melt temperatures, for three airfoil sections, respec-
tively. In overall, an increase in holding time causes a decrease
in the shrinkage, which is an expected outcome. The effect of
temperature is more evident for the second and third sections,
since they are more free to shrink with respect to the first section
which is attached to the root (that is considered as a constrain).
In general, an increase in melt temperature decreases the shrink-
age, probably due to lower viscosity of the melt that promotes
more uniform pressure distribution throughout the mold. There-
fore, a less pressure drop is promoted and especially for the
sections further from the injection point (for instance Sections 2
and 3) a higher pressure is felt, consequently, a lower shrinkage
is resulted.

Fig. 7. Part sections measured by CMM.

584 S.A.M. Rezavand, A.H. Behravesh / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 182 (2007) 580–587

Fig. 9. Measured Dim “a” in two models.

One important result is that the amount of shrinkage for pat-

tern TP1 is much higher than that of pattern TP2 (almost twice
for the second and third sections). This can be due to the curva-
ture feature of pattern TP1. For this design, it can be inferred that
the resulted shrinkage consists of two types: thermal shrinkage
and differential shrinkage. The first is caused by the temperature
difference in the cooling period and the latter is caused by the
shrinkage difference (of the adjacent points) called “warpage”
[5]. This is due to the difference in the cooling rate of the two
sides of the curved shapes (cooling rate at the concave side is
lower than that of convex side) (Fig. 15).
Fig. 10. Measured Dim “b” in two models. Figs. 16 and 17 illustrate the degree of the deviation of the
sections two and three with respect to the first section at dif-
ferent holding times and melt temperatures. It is evident that
an increase in holding time causes a decrease in deviation. The
effect of temperature is rather noticeable, so that an increase
in melt temperature causes a decrease in the deviation. The
reasons were explained earlier as both parameters signify the
pressure effect. However, the interesting result is that the direc-
tion of deviation for pattern TP2 is opposite to that of pattern
TP1. The amount of deviation is larger and the sensitivity to
melt temperature is greater so that the direction of the devia-
tion changes at the highest temperature of 72 ◦ C. It is clearly
seen that the deviation in pattern TP1 (consisting of curvature)
is always existing and well behaved, while in pattern TP2, it is
not stable, so that by a small increase in melt temperature, it can
Fig. 11. Measured Dim “c” in two models.
vanish.

Fig. 12. Variation of chord length at the first section for: (a) TP1 and (b) TP2.
 S.A.M. Rezavand, A.H. Behravesh / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 182 (2007) 580–587 585

Fig. 13. Variation of chord length at the second section for: (a) TP1 and (b) TP2.

Fig. 14. Variation of chord length at the third section for: (a) TP1 and (b) TP2.

Fig. 18 shows the effect of holding time and melt temperature

Fig. 15. Warpage promotion of TP1 pattern airfoil.
on the root width at the second (middle) section. It is clear that the
amount of root shrinkage is relatively high, up to 4%, due to the
root thick section. The effects of melt temperature and holding
time are seen to be negligible, although the influence is rather
unexpected. It is well known that, an increase in the holding
time causes a decrease in shrinkage. The obtained results for the
thick root show an opposite outcome, but the degree of change
is not intense.
Fig. 19 shows the variation of airfoil length with the injec-
tion parameters. It is well shown that an increase in holding
time causes a decrease in the airfoil length while the effect of
temperature is rather negligible.
It is also noticed that the amount of shrinkage is different for
both patterns. This could be explained by the hydraulic radius
of both sections which is in relevant to the ease of flow and

Fig. 16. Variation of Dim b (deviation of the second section from the first section) for: (a) TP1 and (b) TP2.
586 S.A.M. Rezavand, A.H. Behravesh / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 182 (2007) 580–587

Fig. 17. Variation of Dim b (deviation of the third section from the first section) for: (a) TP1 and (b) TP2.

Fig. 18. Variation of shrinkage percent at the second (middle) section of the root for: (a) TP1 and (b) TP2.

Fig. 19. Shrinkage of the airfoil length for: (a) TP1 and (b) TP2.

thus the degree of pressure drop. According to the dimensions,
the hydraulic radius of TP1 is 13.2 which is lower than that
16.1 of TP2. A lower hydraulic radius represents a higher flow
restriction. Thus, it is expected that a higher pressure drop is
yielded which consequently, could cause a higher shrinkage.
However, it cannot be concluded that this amount of difference
in hydraulic pressure could be the principle reason for difference
in shrinkage.
6. Conclusion
The experimental results indicated that:
• Both melt temperature and holding time have great influences
on the final dimensions of injected wax pattern.
• Each blade geometrical feature has particular influences on
the final dimensions.
• Chord length and airfoil deviation are most influenced by the
curvature of the blade. These issues cannot be eliminated by
only variations of the processing parameters. A calibration
step is seemed to be necessary.
• The airfoil deviation appeared always toward the convex side
affected by the curvature. It is expected, the larger the curva-
ture, the further the deviation.
• The large thickness of the root produces significant sink
marks. Thus, the molding process to produce the large thick-
ness is unacceptable. This result verifies the importance of
inserting a chiller (of the same wax material) into the mold
before injection. Therefore, the final shrinkage and sink mark
could be significantly reduced.
 S.A.M. Rezavand, A.H. Behravesh / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 182 (2007) 580–587
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank MavadKaran (Jahed Noavar)
Engineering Company staff, especially Mr. Foroughi, for their
useful assistance and accommodating technical equipments and
Mr. Godsi (wax injection machine operator). Also, the authors
would like to extend their gratitude to Shahab Engineering Com-
pany for providing measuring machines.
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