o Requirements of riser

o Riser design
o Solidification time
o Types of riser
Riser
o Optimum dimensions of cylindrical riser
o Methods of riser design
o Placement of risers
o Feeding aids
Riser
▪ The function of a riser is to feed the casting during solidification so that
no shrinkage cavities are formed.

▪ The requirement of risers depends to a great extent upon the type of

metal poured and the complexity of the casting.

▪ Shrinkage occurs in three steps:

(1) liquid contraction during cooling prior to solidification
(2) contraction during the phase change from liquid to solid
(3) Contraction of the solidified casting during cooling to room temperature.
▪ Contraction of the liquid metal during cooling from PT to FT causes the
height of the liquid to be reduced.

▪ Solidification shrinkage also leads to a reduction in liquid height.

▪ Void cavity formed in the cube
casting since the liquid metal in
the center, which solidified in the
end, was not fed during the
solidification.

▪ The liquid shrinkage that

occurred ends up as a void and
such isolated spots, which remain
hot till the end, are called
‘hotspots’.
Requirements of a riser
▪ The riser must not solidify before the casting and should encourage
complete filling of the mould cavity.

▪ Riser volume must be enough to provide a sufficient amount of molten

metal to compensate for the shrinkage in the casting.

▪ Junctions between the casting and the riser should not develop hot
spots, where shrinkage porosity can occur.

▪ Risers must be placed such that the molten metal can be delivered to
locations where it is most needed.
Riser design

▪ Riser design involves the calculation of the optimum size required

for the riser.

▪ The optimum size of riser ensure that the molten metal cools very
slow and has enough volume of molten metal to feed the cavity.

▪ The location for placing the riser is also important.

▪ Riser should be located such that directional solidification occurs

starting from the farthest point in the mould cavity.
Solidification time

▪ The total solidification time is the time required for the casting to
solidify after pouring. This time is dependent on the size and shape of
the casting by an empirical relationship known as Chvorinov’s rule.

TTS = Total solidification time, (min), V = volume of the casting, cm3; A = Surface area
of the casting, cm2 ; n is an exponent usually taken to have a value 2 and Cm is the
mould constant.
The value of mould constant depends on the particular conditions of the
casting operation such as

▪ Mould material (e.g., specific heat, thermal conductivity)

▪ Thermal properties of the cast metal (e.g., heat of fusion, specific heat,
thermal conductivity)

▪ Pouring temperature relative to the melting point of the metal.

The value of Cm can be based on experimental data from previous

operations carried out using the same mold material, metal, and pouring
temperature, even though the shape of the part may be quite different.
▪ Chvorinov’s rule indicates that a casting with a higher volume-to-
surface area ratio will cool and solidify more slowly than one with a
lower ratio.

▪ This principle is put to good use in designing the riser in a mold.

▪ To perform its function of feeding molten metal to the mould cavity,

the metal in the riser must remain in the liquid phase longer than the
casting.
▪ TTS for the riser must exceed TTS for the main casting.

▪ Since the mould conditions for both riser and casting are the same,
their mould constants will be equal.

▪ By designing the riser to have a larger volume to area ratio, the main
casting will most likely solidify first and the effects of liquid
shrinkage will be minimized.
Types of riser
Side riser (Blind type) Top riser (Open type)

▪ Top riser
▪ Side riser
▪ Open riser
▪ Blind riser
Optimum dimensions of a cylindrical riser
D D
H H

Top riser Side riser

𝜋 2 𝜋
A= 𝐷 + 𝜋D𝐻 A = 2. 𝐷2 + 𝜋D𝐻
4 4
𝜋 2 𝜕𝐴
Use, V = 𝐷 𝐻 and for surface area to be minimum =0
4 𝜕𝑑

D = 2H D=H
Problem 23
A cylindrical side riser must be designed for a sand-casting mould. The
casting itself is a steel rectangular plate with dimensions 7.5 cm x12.5 cm
x 2.0 cm. Previous observations have indicated that the total solidification
time (TTS) for this casting is 1.6 min. The cylinder for the riser will have a
diameter-to-height ratio of 1.0. Determine the dimensions of the riser so
that its TTS 2.0 min.

Ans: 4.7 cm
Problem 24
Three castings are of the same material, volume and cast under similar
conditions. One is a sphere, another is a cube and third is cylinder with its
length being equal to its diameter. Calculate
(i) The ratio of the solidification time of sphere to cube.
(ii) The ratio of the solidification time of sphere to the cylinder.

Ans: (i) 1.24, (ii) 1.38

Methods of riser design
The different methods followed are:
(1) Cains method
(2) Modulus method
(3) NRL method
(4) Shrinkage volume consideration
Cains method
▪ Solidification of the casting occurs by losing heat from the surfaces and
the amount of the heat is given by the volume of the casting.

▪ The cooling characteristics or cooling rate of a casting is linearly

proportional to the ratio of surface area to volume.

▪ If the ratio of the casting is higher then it is expected to cool faster.

▪ The ‘freezing ratio’, X of a mould is defined as the ratio of cooling

characteristics of casting to the riser.
 Freezing ratio,

▪ In order to be able to feed the casting, the riser should solidify last,
and hence freezing ratio should be greater than unity.

▪ Sphere has the lowest surface-area-to-volume ratio, but in a sphere,

the hottest metal being at the centre, it is difficult to use for feeding
the casting.

▪ The next best is the cylindrical type which is most commonly used for
their ease in moulding.
▪ Based on the Chvorinov’s rule, Caine developed a relationship empirically
for the freezing ratio as

X = Freezing ratio
Y = riser volume/casting volume.
a, b and c are constants whose values depend on the material.
Problem 25
Calculate the size of a cylindrical top riser (height and diameter equal)
necessary to feed a steel slab casting 25 x25 x 5 cm, poured horizontally
into the mould. Use Caines method. The a, b, and c values for steel are
0.10, 0.03, and 1.00, respectively.

Ans: D= 11.44 cm ~ 12 cm
Problem 26
A cast steel slab of dimension 30 x 20 x 5 cm is poured horizontally using
a side riser. The riser is cylindrical in shape with diameter and height both
equal to D. Calculate the freezing ratio of the mould in terms of D.

Ans: 0.095d
Modulus method
▪ Another method for finding the optimum riser size is the ‘modulus
method’.

▪ The modulus is the inverse of the cooling ratio.

▪ Modulus = Volume/surface area

▪ For a casting without shrinkage defects, the modulus of riser should be

greater than that of casting.

▪ Empirically the modulus of the riser should be larger than the modulus
of the casting by a factor of 1.2
 𝑉
Modulus, 𝑀=
𝐴𝑠

MR = 1.2 MC
Problem 26
Calculate the size of a cylindrical riser (height and diameter equal)
necessary to feed a cubical casting of 100mm side, with a centrally
located hole of diameter 50 mm. Use modulus method.

Ans: D= 80.6 mm
Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)
or Shape factor method
▪ Simplification of Caine’s method.

▪ Defines a shape factor to replace the freezing ratio.

▪ The shape factor is defined as,

𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ + 𝑊𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ
𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 =
𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠

▪ Higher the shape factor, the faster is the cooling.

▪ The length, width and thicknesses are computed from the maximum
dimensions of the casting section.

▪ Then, the ratio of the riser volume to the casting volume can be
obtained from the graph shown above.
Problem 27
Calculate the size of a cylindrical riser (height and diameter equal)
necessary to feed a steel slab casting 25 x25 x 5 cm, with a top riser casting
poured horizontally into the mould. Use NRL method.

Ans: 12.32 cm
Problem 28
Determine the shape factor for a casting in the form of an annular cylinder
of outside diameter 30 cm, inside diameter 20 cm and height 30 cm.

Ans: 21.7
Shrinkage volume method

▪ In this method it is considered that if the riser volume is three times the
shrinkage volume of the casting, then the riser can comfortably feed
the casting.

▪ It has to be checked whether the riser cools slower than the casting.

▪ Check whether MR ≥ MC

▪ If MR < MC , calculate the minimum riser volume by considering

MR = MC
Problem 29
Determine the dimensions of a top cylindrical riser to be used for casting
an aluminium cube of side 15 cm. The volume shrinkage of aluminium
during solidification is 6.5%.

Ans: D = 15 cm, H = 7.5 cm

Problem 30
A steel plate 40 cm x 30 cm x 0.3 cm is to be cast. The volume shrinkage of
steel during solidification is 3%. A cylindrical side riser with a diameter of 4
cm and height of 4 cm is used. The riser volume should at least be 3 times
that dictated by shrinkage consideration. Is the riser volume sufficient? If
not, what should be the dimensions of the riser?
Placement of risers

▪ The feeding distance is the maximum distance over which a riser can
supply feed metal such that the casting section remains relatively free
of internal porosity.

▪ The feeding distance depends on the temperature gradient, which is

the change in the temperature per unit length during solidification.

▪ The feeding distance is always measured from the edge of the riser to
the farthest point in the casting section to be fed by that riser.
▪ Feeding distance determines the number of risers needed.

▪ The feeding distance depends on section geometry, pouring

temperature, casting and mould materials.

▪ When more than one riser is used, their spacing should be carefully
managed.
▪ Riser gradient: Since the riser remains hotter than the casting section to
be fed, it provides a temperature gradient that facilitates feeding.

▪ End wall gradient: The cooling effect of the mould at the end of a
casting section also provides a temperature gradient along the length of
the casting section to be fed.
▪ The larger the solidification modulus, the longer the solidification time.

▪ If a casting section has a larger modulus than all of the surrounding

casting sections, it will still be solidifying after the surrounding sections
are completely solidified.

▪ The last region to solidify in such a casting section is termed a hot spot.

▪ Once the hot spots in a casting are identified, a riser must be placed
adjacent to each hot spot.

▪ This ensures that feed metal will be available to feed each hot spot until
solidification is complete.
Feeding aids

▪ To increase the efficiency of a riser, it is necessary to keep the metal

in the riser in liquid form for longer periods so that it would feed the
casting till it solidifies.

▪ The riser volume can be decreased, resulting in a higher yield.

▪ The aids used for this purpose are called feeding aids.

▪ They can be either exothermic materials or insulators.

▪ Exothermic materials when added at the top of the riser, would give
out heat and also act as heat insulators, reducing the heat loss
through radiation. The exothermic materials that can be used are
graphite or charcoal powder, rice hulls and thermit mixtures.

▪ Insulating shield on the top of an open riser is effective since it

reduces a considerable amount of heat loss by radiation. Loose
cellulose material such as rice husk is used as top insulation.

▪ Riser sleeves which are either purely insulating or mildly exothermic

may be used to reduce the heat transfer. These are generally made of
fire clay–sawdust for ferrous materials.
 o Solidification
o Directional and progressive solidification
Solidification o Need for directional solidification
o Chills
o Microstructure development
▪ As temperature of molten metal decrease atoms group together in
positions corresponding to space lattice and are known as embryos.

▪ Embryos co-exist with molten metal and develop into nuclei.

▪ The progress of solidification may be broken down into two distinct

stages:
o Nucleation
When the liquid metal is cooled solidification occurs by formation
of numerous small particles of the new phase.
o Growth
The increase in particle size until the transformation complete.
Grain structure

• Nucleation: It begins at foreign

particles.
• Crystal Growth: Crystal begin to
grow from each
• Grain Formation: Interface
Develops
• Polycrystalline Structure: Grain
Growth is limited by another
grain, creating boundary between
them.
Solidification
▪ Directional solidification must be maintained since heavy sections
cannot be fed through thin sections.
▪ Directional solidification is the solidification of the molten metal from
the sprue to the mould cavity and then to the riser.

▪ If a riser is not used, then directional solidification is the solidification

that occurs from the farthest end of the casting to the sprue.

▪ Directional solidification results in a casting that is free from voids and

internal cavities.

▪ Progressive solidification or parallel solidification, on the other hand,

starts at the walls of the casting and progresses perpendicularly from
that surface.
▪ Progressive solidification is a result of the freezing mechanism.

▪ Progressive solidification may result in the formation of voids and

internal cavities in castings.

▪ Progressive solidification cannot be avoided. However, the degree of

progressive solidification can be controlled and more directional
solidification can be achieved.

▪ Directional solidification is achieved with the use of insulating pads,

heating pads, chills etc.
Insulating pad/heating pad
Chills
▪ Chills are metallic objects having a higher heat-absorbing capability
than the sand mould.

▪ The function of chills are:

o To provide a steeper temperature gradient so that directional

solidification can be obtained.
o To increase the rate of solidification in critical regions to prevent
the formation of hotspots that lead to cavities.

▪ They are provided when the casting has abrupt section variations.
Where should be the Chill placed ?

Insulating pad/heating pad

 Chill

Insulating pad/heating pad

▪ Chills can be external or internal.

▪ An external chill is embedded or rammed up in the mould. Usually

made of copper, cast iron and steel.

▪ Internal chills are small metal pieces placed in the mould cavity before
the molten metal is poured.

▪ Internal chills are made of the same metal as the casting.

▪ Internal chills are in the form of thin wires or nails projecting out in the
mould cavity.
Microstructure development
▪ Because of the chilling action of the
mould wall, a thin skin of solid
metal is initially formed at the
interface immediately after pouring.

▪ Grains near the mould wall are fine

and randomly oriented.
▪ As cooling continues, further grain
growth occurs in a direction away
from the heat transfer.
▪ Further heat transfer is through the skin and mould wall, and the
grains grow inwardly as needles of solid metal.

▪ As these needles enlarge, tree-like lateral branches form and this

type of grain growth is referred to as dendritic growth.

▪ Additional metal continuously gets deposited onto the dendrites

until complete solidification has occurred.

▪ The grains resulting from this dendritic growth take on a preferred

orientation, tending to be coarse, columnar grains aligned toward the
center of the casting.
▪ In alloys, the composition of the
dendrites as they start to form favors
the metal with the higher melting point.

▪ As freezing continues an imbalance in

composition between the metal that has
solidified and molten metal develops.

▪ This composition imbalance is finally

manifested in the completed casting in
the form of segregation of the elements.
Fettling
▪ The casting as comes from the sand mould is attached to the gates,
runners and risers.

▪ It is also possible that sand will adhere to the casting at a number of

places that need to be completely cleaned. The complete process of the
cleaning of castings is called fettling.

▪ Fettling involves the removal of the cores, gates and risers, chipping of
any of the unnecessary projections on surfaces and cleaning of the
casting surface.
Casting defects

The major defects which are likely to occur in sand castings are:
▪ Gas defects
▪ Shrinkage cavities
▪ Moulding material defects
▪ Pouring metal defects
▪ Metallurgical defects
▪ Other defects
Gas defects
▪ Gas defects are caused when the gases and volatiles produced during
casting are not being passed out through the mould.

▪ Arise due to lower venting, lower permeability of the mould and/or

improper design of the casting.

▪ Excess moisture in moulding sand, cores not sufficiently baked, use of

highly moistened chills and chaplets.

▪ The lower permeability of the mould could have been caused by the
finer grain size of the sand, higher clay, higher moisture, or by
excessive ramming of the moulds.
▪ Sand blow/blow holes and open
blows:
Spherical, flattened or elongated
cavities present inside the casting or
on the surface are called blow holes
and open blows, respectively.
▪ Air inclusions: The atmospheric and other gases absorbed by the
molten metal during the entire casting process, when not allowed to
escape, would be trapped inside the casting and weaken it.

▪ Pin hole porosity: Tiny blow holes caused by hydrogen or carbon

monoxide in the molten metal.
Shrinkage cavities
▪ These are caused by the liquid
shrinkage occurring during the
solidification of the casting.

▪ To compensate for this, proper

feeding of liquid metal and proper
casting design are required.

▪ Hotspots in the casting should be

identified to prevent the
formation of cavities.
Moulding material defects
Cuts and washes: These appear as rough spots
and areas of excess metal, and are caused by the
erosion of moulding sand by the flowing molten
metal. This may be caused by the moulding sand
not having enough strength or the molten metal
flowing at high velocity.

Metal penetration: When the molten metal enters

the gaps between the sand grains, the result
would be a rough casting surface.
Moulding material defects
Runout: A run out is caused when the molten metal leaks out of the
mould. This may be caused either due to faulty mould making or
because of the faulty moulding flask.

Rat tails and buckles: Rat tail is caused by the compression failure of the
skin of the mould cavity because of the excessive heat in the molten
metal.
Moulding material defects
Swell: Under the influence of the metallostatic forces, the mould wall
may move back causing a swell in the dimensions of the casting.

Fusion: This is caused by the fusion of sand grains with the molten
metal, giving a brittle, glassy appearance on the casting surface.

Drop: The dropping of loose moulding sand or lumps normally from the
cope surface into the mould cavity is responsible for this defect. This is
essentially, due to improper ramming of the cope flask.

Scab: Rough areas on the surface of the casting due to encrustations of

sand and metal.
Pouring metal defects
Mis run: Mis run is caused when the metal is
unable to fill the mould cavity completely which
leads to unfilled cavities.

Cold shut: A cold shut is caused when two metal

streams while meeting in the mould cavity, do
not fuse together properly causing a
discontinuity or weak spot in the casting.

Slag inclusions: During the melting process, flux

is added to remove the undesirable oxides and
impurities present in the metal.
Pouring metal defects
Cold shot: results from splattering during
pouring, causing the formation of solid globules
of metal that become entrapped in the casting.

Pouring procedures and gating system designs

that avoid splattering can prevent this defect.
Metallurgical defects
Hot tears: Since metal has low strength at
higher temperatures, any unwanted
cooling stress may cause the rupture of
the casting.

Hot spots: These are caused by the chilling

of the casting.
Other defects
Mould shift: Refers to a defect caused by
a sidewise displacement of the mold
cope relative to the drag, the result of
which is a step in the cast product at the
parting line

Core shift: It is similar to mold shift, but

it is the core that is displaced, and the
displacement is usually vertical. Core
shift and mold shift are caused by
buoyancy of the molten metal
Inspection of castings
▪ Visual inspection, dimensional measurements, metallurgical, chemical,
physical, and mechanical tests are performed.

▪ The various Non-destructive Testing (NDT) methods used for

inspection of castings are:
o Dye penetrant testing
o Fluorescent Powder Testing
o Radiographic inspection
o Magnetic Particle Inspection
o Ultrasonic Testing
o Eddy Current Inspection
Special casting processes
▪ Sand casting processes described so far are not suitable and
economical in many applications.

▪ For castings with intricate shapes special casting processes would

be more appropriate.

▪ Using expendable mould has an economic disadvantage and there

are also some special casting processes that use permanent
moulds.
Shell moulding Expendable mould and Permanent pattern
Shell moulding
Shell moulding

▪ Conventional sand moulds are replaced by thin, half mould shells that are
clamped together for pouring.
▪ Shell mould is made up of a mixture of dried silica sand and phenol resin.

Advantages:
▪ Good dimensional accuracy and surface finish.
▪ Can be mechanized for mass production.

Disadvantages:
▪ High initial investment.
▪ Limited to small sized castings only.
▪ Expensive binders.
Vacuum moulding/ V-process Expendable mould and Permanent pattern
Vacuum moulding/ V-process
Vacuum moulding/ V-process

▪ Uses a sand mold held together by vacuum pressure rather than by a chemical
binder.

Advantages:
▪ Since no binders are used, the sand is readily recovered in vacuum moulding
without extensive mechanical reconditioning.
▪ Since no water is mixed with the sand, moisture-related defects are absent from
the product

Disadvantages:
▪ Relatively slow process and not readily adaptable to mechanization.
Expanded polystyrene process
Lost foam/Evaporative pattern casting
Expendable mould and Expendable pattern
Expanded polystyrene process
Expanded polystyrene process
Lost foam/Evaporative pattern casting
▪ Molten metal is poured onto the polystyrene pattern which immediately
vapourizes the pattern, resulting into a mould cavity which gets filled by metal.

Advantages:
▪ Pattern need not be removed from the mould.
▪ Complex shapes with good surface details can be cast.

Disadvantages:
▪ A new pattern is needed for every casting.
Investment casting Expendable mould and Expendable pattern
Investment casting
▪ The process is also known as lost wax process or precision cast process.

▪ The process derives its name from the fact that the wax pattern used in the process
is subsequently melted from the mould and is lost before casting process.

Advantages:
▪ Complex shaped parts that are difficult to produce by other method can be made
since the pattern is withdrawn by melting.
▪ Good surface finish and dimensional tolerance.

Disadvantages:
▪ Suitable for smaller size castings
▪ Expensive due to larger manual labour.
Mercast process Expendable mould and Expendable pattern
▪ The Mercast process is a type of investment casting that uses mercury
instead of wax to create a pattern.

▪ Mercury in liquid form is poured into a metal master mould and the
whole unit is then cooled below the freezing point of mercury (-40 oC).

▪ The frozen mercury pattern is removed and dipped in a cold ceramic

slurry bath to form a ceramic shell around the frozen mercury.
▪
▪ The mercury is then melted at room temperature and the ceramic shell
is dried at high temperature. The shell is then placed in a flask
surrounded by sand and molten metal is poured.
Mercast process

Advantages:
▪ Intricate shapes can be formed since mercury can flow into thin sections of the
master mould.
▪ Good surface finish and dimensional tolerance.
▪ Mercury can be reused to make patterns.

Disadvantages:
▪ Expensive process.
▪ Pattern produced has to be handled at very low temperature.
Permanent mould casting

▪ In all the processes that have been covered so far, a mould needs to
be prepared for each of the casting produced.

▪ For large-scale production, making a mould for every casting to be

produced may be difficult and expensive.

▪ Therefore, a permanent mould called ‘die’ may be made from which a

large number of castings can be produced.

▪ The different permanent mould casting methods are discussed.

Pressure die casting Permanent mould

▪ Die casting involves the injection

of molten metal at high pressure
into a metallic die.

▪ As the metal is forced in under

pressure compared to permanent
moulding, it is also called
“pressure die casting”.

▪ Narrow sections, complex shapes

and fine surface details can easily
be produced.
Pressure die casting
▪ The die used for die castings is very much similar to mould.

▪ It is designed to hold and accurately close two mould halves and keep them closed
while liquid metal is forced into the cavity.

Advantages:
▪ Very small thicknesses can be easily filled.
▪ High production rate and economy for large-scale production.
▪ Castings have better mechanical properties.

Disadvantages:
▪ Maximum size of the casting is limited.
▪ Not suitable for all metals.
▪ Process is expensive.
Vacuum mould casting Permanent mould

▪ Not to be confused with vacuum moulding

▪ A vacuum is used to draw the molten metal into the mold cavity.
Slush casting Permanent mould

▪ Slush casting is a special type of permanent mould casting, where the

molten metal is not allowed to completely solidify.

▪ Hollow castings can be produced without the use of a core.

▪ Liquid metal is poured into an open-top permanent mould.

▪ After the desired wall thickness is obtained, the mould is inverted and
the molten metal that is not solidified is drained out.
Slush casting
Squeeze casting Permanent mould

▪ casting is solidified under heavy pressure to prevent the formation of shrinkage

defects
Centrifugal casting Permanent or Expendable mould

▪ A family of casting process where the mould is rotated rapidly as the

metal is poured into it.

▪ Centrifugal force distributes molten metal to outer regions of die cavity

and a continuous pressure will be acting on the metal as it solidifies.

▪ Slag, oxides and other inclusions being lighter, get separated from the
metal and segregate toward the center.

▪ The moulds made of sand or metal are rotated about a vertical axis
and the metal enters the mould through the central pouring basin
Centrifugal casting

▪ Depending on the method of feeding metal in to mould and location

of mould with respect to axis of mould rotation, the centrifugal
casting process can be divided into three categories.
▪ True Centrifugal Casting- The axis of rotation of the mould and that of
the casting is same and horizontal. The casting produced is always
centrally hollow and is made exclusively under the effect of centrifugal
force.

▪ Semi-Centrifugal Casting - The component cast is usually large and has

rotational symmetry as in case of pulleys, flywheels, discs. The castings
made by this method need not be centrally hollow.

▪ Centrifuge casting- In this case, the combined axis of rotation of the

moulds does not coincide with the axis of rotation of individual mould
table. A number of moulds are placed around a central sprue for
feeding metal and are connected to the central sprue.
Continuous casting Permanent mould
Continuous casting
▪ Continuous casting process can be used for producing castings of large length with a
uniform cross-section.

▪ In this process molten metal is continuously poured into mould (pouring die) opened
at both ends, and as metal flows down it is cooled rapidly by quick dissipation of
heat by the circulating water in the jacket around the metal mould.

▪ The solidified product in a continuous form is removed from the other end of the
mould.

▪ The process is economical as it is automated and is widely used for the production of
ingots, billets, blooms and sheets.