Study on Numerical Simulation of Mold Filling and Heat Transfer in Die Casting Process

A 3-D mathematical model considering turbulence phenomena has been established based on a computational fluid dynamics technique, so called 3-D SOLA-VOF (Solution Algorithm-Volume of Fluid), to simulate the fluid flow of mold filling process of die casting. In addition, the mathematical model for simulating the heat transfer in die casting process has also been established. The computation program has been developed by the authors with the finite difference method (FDM) recently. As verification, the mold filling process of a S-shaped die casting has been simulated and the simulation results coincide with that of the benchmark test. Finally, as a practical application, the gating design of a motorcycle component was modified by the mold filling simulation and the dies design of another motorcycle component was optimized by the heat transfer simulation. All the optimized designs were verified by the production practice.

Heat Transfer between Casting and Die during High Pressure Die Casting Process of AM50 Alloy-Modeling and Experimental Results

A method based on die casting experiments and mathematic modeling is presented for the determination of the heat flow density （HFD） and interfacial heat transfer coefficient （IHTC） during the high pressure die casting （HPDC） process.Experiments were carried out using step shape casting and a commercial magnesium alloy,AM50.Temperature profiles were measured and recorded using thermocouples embedded inside the die. Based on these temperature readings,the HFD and IHTC were successfully determined and the calculation results show that the HFD and IHTC at the metal-die interface increases sharply right after the fast phase injection process until approaching their maximum values,after which their values decrease to a much lower level until the dies are opened.Different patterns of heat transfer behavior were found between the die and the casting at different thicknesses.The thinner the casting was,the more quickly the HFD and IHTC reached their steady states.Also,the values for both the HFD and IHTC values were different between die and casting at different thicknesses.

Effects of process parameters on morphology and distribution of externally solidified crystals in microstructure of magnesium alloy die castings

During the cold-chamber high pressure die casting(HPDC) process, samples were produced to investigate the microstructure characteristics of AM60B magnesium alloy. Special attention was paid to the effects of process parameters on the morphology and distribution of externally solidified crystals(ESCs) in the microstructure of magnesium alloy die castings, such as slow shot phase plunger velocity, delay time of pouring and fast shot phase plunger velocity. On the basis of metallographic observation and quantitative statistics, it is concluded that a lower slow shot phase plunger velocity and a longer delay time of pouring both lead to an increment of the size and percentage of the ESCs, due to the fact that a longer holding time of the melt in the shot sleeve will cause a more severe loss of the superheat. The impingement of the melt flow on the ESCs is more intensive with a higher fast shot phase plunger velocity, in such case the ESCs reveal a more granular and roundish morphology and are dispersed throughout the cross section of the castings. Based on analysis of the filling and solidification processes of the melt during the HPDC process, reasonable explanations were proposed in terms of the nucleation, growth, remelting and fragmentation of the ESCs to interpret the effects of process parameters on the morphology and distribution of the ESCs in the microstructure of magnesium alloy die castings.

Grain Size Distribution and Interfacial Heat Transfer Coefficient during Solidification of Magnesium Alloys Using High Pressure Die Casting Process

The objective of this study is to predict grain size and heat transfer coefficient at the metal-die interface during high pressure die casting process and solidification of the magnesium alloy AM60. Multiple runs of the commercial casting simulation package, ProCASTTM, were used to model the mold filling and solidification events employing a range of interfacial heat transfer coefficient values. The simulation results were used to estimate the centerline cooling curve at various locations through the casting. The centerline cooling curves, together with the die temperature and the thermodynamic properties of the alloy, were then used as inputs to compute the solution to the Stefan problem of a moving phase boundary, thereby providing the through-thickness cooling curves at each chosen location of the casting, Finally, the local cooling rate was used to calculate the resulting grain size via previously established relationships. The effects of die temperature, filling time and heat transfer coefficient on the grain structure in skin region and core region were quantitatively characterized. It was observed that the grain size of skin region strongly depends on above three factors whereas the grain size of core region shows dependence on the interracial heat transfer coefficient and thickness of the samples. The grain size distribution from surface to center was estimated from the relationship between grain size and the predicted cooling rate. The prediction of grain size matches well with experimental results. A comparison of the predicted and experimentally determined grain size profiles enables the determination of the apparent interracial heat transfer coefficient for different locations.

Microstructural characteristics of near-liquidus cast AZ91D alloy during semi-solid die casting

Near-liquidus cast ingot was reheated to semi-solid firstly, and then a bracket of motor was prepared by die casting the semi-solid ingot into mould. The microstructural characteristics of AZ91D alloy in these processes were investigated. In the process of near-liquidus casting, primary α-Mg grains tend to be rosette-like because of the increase of plentiful quasi-solid atom clusters in molten alloy with the decrease of pouring temperature. These rosette-like a-Mg grains in ingots fabricated by near-liquidus casting are fused off and refined into near-globular structure owing to the solute diffusion mechanism and the minimum surface energy mechanism during reheating. After semi-solid die-casting, a-Mg grains, located in biscuit, impact and connect with each other; α-Mg grains, located in inner gate, congregate together; while α-Mg grains, located in component, distribute uniformly and become into globularity or strip. Because the inner gate limits the flowing of semi-solid slurry, and the pressure acted on the semi-solid slurry decreases gradually along the filling direction of semi-solid slurry in Cavity, microstructural segregation of unmelted a-Mg grains appears along this direction. Shrinkage holes in casting are caused by two different reasons. For biscuit, the shrinkage holes are caused by the blocked access of feeding liquid to the shrinkage zone for the agglomerated unmelted α-Mg grains. For component, the shrinkage holes are caused by the lack of feeding of liquid alloy.