Gating system optimization of low pressure casting A356 aluminum alloy intake manifold based on numerical simulation

To eliminate the shrinkage porosity in low pressure casting of an A356 aluminum alloy intake manifold casting, numerical simulation on fi lling and solidifi cation processes of the casting was carried out using the ProCAST software. The gating system of the casting is optimized according to the simulation results. Results show that when the gating system consists of only one sprue, the fi lling of the molten metal is not stable; and the casting does not follow the sequence solidifi cation, and many shrinkage porosities are observed through the casting. After the gating system is improved by adding one runner and two in-gates, the fi lling time is prolonged from 4.0 s to 4.5 s, the fi lling of molten metal becomes stable, but this casting does not follow the sequence solidifi cation either. Some shrinkage porosity is also observed in the hot spots of the casting. When the gating system was further improved by adding risers and chill to the hot spots of the casting, the shrinkage porosity defects were eliminated completely. Finally, by using the optimized gating system the A356 aluminum alloy intake manifold casting with integrated shape and smooth surface as well as dense microstructure was successfully produced.

Filling ability of semi-solid A356 aluminum alloy slurry in rheo-diecasting

The effects of slurry temperature, injection pressure, and piston velocity on the rheo-filling ability of semisolid A356 alloys were studied by the reho-diecasting methods. The results show that the slurry temperature of the semi-solid A356 aluminum alloy has an important effect on the filling ability; the higher the slurry temperature, the better is the filling ability, and the appropriate slurry temperature for rheo-filling is in the range of 585-595℃. The injection pressure also has a great effect on the filling ability, and it is appropriate to the rheo-filling when the injection pressure is in the range of 15-25 MPa. The piston velocity also has a great effect on the filling ability, and it is appropriate to the rheo-filling when the piston velocity is in the range of 0.072-0.12 m/s. The filling ability of the slurry prepared by low superheat pouring with weak electromagnetic stirring is very good and the microstructural distribution in the rheo-formed die castings is homogeneous, which is advantageous to the high quality die casting. 2008 University of Science and Technology Beijing. All rights reserved.

Microstructure and Properties of SemisolidA356 Alloy Strip Affected by Nozzle Temperature of a Novel Micro Fused-Casting

The semisolid A356 alloy strip was prepared by a novel continuous micro fused-casting process. The microstructure evolution and mechanical property of A356 aluminum alloy strip with different nozzle temperatures were investigated. The nozzle temperature had great influences on the microstructure and property primarily accompanied with the crystal change in the fused-casting area through the cooling conditions. The results showed that the semisolid A356 alloy strip samples fabricated by micro fused-casting demonstrated good performances and uniform structures with the nozzle temperature at 593 ℃ and the stirring velocity at 700 r/min. The fine grains of the primary α-Al phase with average grain size of 51 μm and shape factor up to 0.71 were obtained under the micro fused-casting process, and the ultimate average vickers hardness came up to 83.39±0.89 HV, and the tensile strength and elongation of the A356 alloy strip reached 245.32 MPa and 7.85%, respectively.

Mechanical properties and microstructural evolution of rheocast A356 semi-solid slurry prepared by annular electromagnetic stirring

Nowadays,having an effective technique in preparing semi-solid slurries for rheocasting process seems to be an essential requirement.In this study,semi-solid slurry of A356 aluminum alloy was prepared by three-phase annular electromagnetic stirring(A-EMS)technique under different conditions.The effects of stirring current,pouring temperature and stirring time on microstructural evolution,mean particle size,shape factor and solid fraction were investigated.The rheocasting process was carried out by using a drop weight setup and to inject the prepared semi-solid slurry in optimal conditions into the step-die cavity.The filling behavior and mechanical properties of parts were studied.Microstructural evolution showed that the best semi-solid slurry which had fine spherical particles with the average size of~27μm and a shape factor of~0.8 was achieved at the stirring current of 70 A,melt pouring temperature of 670℃,and stirring time of 30 s.Under these conditions,the step-die cavity was completely filled at die preheating temperature of 470℃.The hardness increases by decreasing step thickness as well as die preheating temperature.Moreover,the tensile properties are improved at lower die preheating temperatures.The fracture surface,which consists of a complex topography,indicates a typical ductile fracture.

Enhancing Fe content tolerance in A356 alloys for achieving low carbon footprint aluminum structure castings

Low carbon footprint aluminum structure castings are the mainstream development direction of alu-minum alloys in the future.Enhancing the Fe content tolerance upper limit in casting aluminum alloys is considered an effective way to promote the application of recycled aluminum production.In this work,it was found that with the Ce and TiCN NPs(nanoparticles)addition simultaneously to A356 alloys,the acicular Fe-rich phases(β-Al 5 FeSi)which damages the properties can be changed into beneficial phases(core-shell heterostructures)for the alloy,and hence the mechanical properties of A356 alloys can be im-proved.The TiCN nanoparticles and rare element Ce play crucial roles in the formation of core-shell het-erostructures.The formation mechanism of core-shell heterostructure was also systematically researched from the perspective of thermodynamics and kinetics.This study provides a simple and feasible strategy to eliminate the harmful effects of Fe impurity and contributes to the industrialization of low carbon footprint aluminum structure castings.

Numerical simulation on reho-diecasting mould filling of an automobile master brake cylinder

An apparent viscosity model of semi-solid A356 aluminum alloy has been developed and the software Castsofl6.0 coupled with the model has been used to simulate the mould filling of an automobile master brake cylinder with the semi-solid A356 aluminum alloy slurry. The simulation results are in agreement with the practical filling process, indicating that the apparent viscosity model is feasible and can be used to simulate the mould filling of the semisolid A356 aluminum alloy slurry and can be used to optimize the filling process and the design of dies. A higher injection pressure, a higher ingate flow velocity of the semi-solid slurry, and a higher slurry temperature are advantageous to the mould filling of the automobile master brake cylinder.