A turbine blade designing method is for designing a turbine blade formed using a metal material in which creep including diffusion creep and dislocation creep occurs by heating. The turbine blade designing method includes: acquiring temperature distribution data relating to temperature distribution in the turbine blade to be heated; acquiring creep strength distribution data relating to distribution of the creep strength required for the turbine blade to be heated; from the correlation data, based on the temperature distribution data and the creep strength distribution data, setting the crystal grain size of a high-temperature portion that is the diffusion creep temperature range of the turbine blade to a size coarser than the reference crystal grain size, and setting the crystal grain size of a low-temperature portion that is the dislocation creep temperature range of the turbine blade to a size finer than the reference crystal grain size.

In a casting device, positions of discharge ends discharging cooling gas, of respective gas supply nozzles are adjusted in response to movement of a mold. This makes it possible to stably achieve high cooling performance for the mold by blowing of the cooling gas. To adjust the positions of the respective discharge ends, the gas supply nozzles are advanced or retreated, or are expanded or contracted. Further, a cooling chamber may include a radiation cooling portion that cools the mold by radiation, and the radiation cooling portion is disposed below the gas supply nozzles that are provided directly below a heat shielding body partitioning a heating chamber and the cooling chamber.

In a casting device, positions of discharge ends discharging cooling gas, of respective gas supply nozzles are adjusted in response to movement of a mold. This makes it possible to stably achieve high cooling performance for the mold by blowing of the cooling gas. To adjust the positions of the respective discharge ends, the gas supply nozzles are advanced or retreated, or are expanded or contracted. Further, a cooling chamber may include a radiation cooling portion that cools the mold by radiation, and the radiation cooling portion is disposed below the gas supply nozzles that are provided directly below a heat shielding body partitioning a heating chamber and the cooling chamber.

A casting method of an active metal includes, in an induction melting furnace using a water-cooled crucible, tapping a molten metal into a mold from a tapping hole provided at a bottom of the water-cooled copper crucible to cast an ingot of the active metal. In conducting the casting under a casting condition in which the ingot has a diameter (D) of 10 mm or more and a ratio (H/D) of an ingot height H to the ingot diameter D of 1.5 or more and a weight of the molten metal tapped in the casting is 200 kg or less, a temperature of the molten metal in the casting is set to be higher than the melting point of the active metal and a casting velocity V (mm/sec) is controlled to satisfy V≤0.1H in relation with the ingot height H by adjusting an opening diameter of the tapping hole.

A casting method of an active metal includes, in an induction melting furnace using a water-cooled crucible, tapping a molten metal into a mold from a tapping hole provided at a bottom of the water-cooled copper crucible to cast an ingot of the active metal. In conducting the casting under a casting condition in which the ingot has a diameter (D) of 10 mm or more and a ratio (H/D) of an ingot height H to the ingot diameter D of 1.5 or more and a weight of the molten metal tapped in the casting is 200 kg or less, a temperature of the molten metal in the casting is set to be higher than the melting point of the active metal and a casting velocity V (mm/sec) is controlled to satisfy V≤0.1H in relation with the ingot height H by adjusting an opening diameter of the tapping hole.

A casting method includes forming a seed. The seed has a first end and a second end. The forming includes bending a seed precursor. The seed second end is placed in contact or spaced facing relation a chill plate. The first end is contacted with molten material. The molten material is cooled and solidifies so that a crystalline structure of the seed propagates into the solidifying material. The forming further includes inserting the bent seed precursor into a sleeve leaving the bent seed precursor protruding from a first end of the sleeve

A casting method includes: forming a seed, the seed having a first end and a second end, the forming including bending a seed precursor; placing the seed second end in contact or spaced facing relation with a chill plate; contacting the first end with molten material; and cooling and solidifying the molten material so that a crystalline structure of the seed propagates into the solidifying material. The forming further included reducing a thickness of the seed proximate the first end relative to a thickness of the seed proximate the second end.

A casting method includes forming a seed. The seed has a first end and a second end and an inner diameter (ID) surface and an outer diameter (OD) surface. The seed second end is placed in contact or spaced facing relation with a chill plate. The first end is contacted with molten material. The molten material is cooled and solidified so that a crystalline structure of the seed propagates into the solidifying material. At least a portion of the seed contacted with the molten material has a solidus higher than a solidus of at least an initial pour portion of the molten material.

A casting method includes forming a seed. The seed has a first end and a second end and an inner diameter (ID) surface and an outer diameter (OD) surface. The seed second end is placed in contact or spaced facing relation with a chill plate. The first end is contacted with molten material. The molten material is cooled and solidified so that a crystalline structure of the seed propagates into the solidifying material. At least a portion of the seed contacted with the molten material has a solidus higher than a solidus of at least an initial pour portion of the molten material.

A process for the manufacture of metal products includes the steps of providing a mold including a first portion made of an aggregate and a binder, delivering a molten metal into the mold, removing a first portion of the mold with a fluid and solidifying at least one targeted portion of the molten metal which will form the metal product with the fluid. A flow of fluid to the mold is stopped for a period of time. Subsequently, a remaining portion of the molten metal is solidified to form the metal product. The at least one targeted portion of the metal product has better mechanical properties than does a remaining portion of the metal product. A unitary, one-piece aluminum alloy component with differing mechanical properties is also disclosed.