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.

HYDRODYNAMIC SIMULATION TO MOLD FILLING UNDER COUNTER GRAVITY

In situ observations of the flow morphology during mold filling under counter gravity are conducted on a perspex water model by means of flow visualization, high speed photography and pattern processing. The experimental results indicate that influences of the dynamic factors on flow morphology can be expressed quantitatively with the parameterφ(k). The flow field takes on different morphology with change in values of φ(k). For thick and thin walled castings, the main dynamic factors influencing flow morphology are gravity and surface tension respectively. Under general circumstances, F_r and W_e should be equal in their values to guarantee the similarity between the prototype and the model in simulating mold filling under counter gravity by experiment.

Study on Numerical Simulation of Mold Filling and Solidification Processes under Pressure Conditions

The mold filling and solidification simulation for the high pressure die casting (HPDC) and low pressure die casting (LPDC) processes were studied. A mathematical model considering the turbulent flow and heat transfer phenomenon during the HPDC process has been established and parallel computation technique was used for the mold filling simulation of the process. The laminar flow characteristics of the LPDC process were studied and a simplified model for the mold filling process of wheel castings has been developed. For the solidification simulation under pressure conditions, the cyclic characteristics and the complicated boundary conditions were considered and techniques to improve the computational efficiency are discussed. A new criterion for predicting shrinkage porosity of Al alloy under low pressure condition has been developed in the solidification simulation process.

Study and Application of Mold Filling Simulation of Shaped Castings

In this paper, an algorithm for simulating fluid flow and heat transfer for mold filling of shaped castings is presented. The main features of the algorithm include: 1) a simple but practical technique based on VOF method to determine free surface, 2) an explicit scheme of enthalpy to solve the energy equation more efficiently, and 3) an effective treatment to modify the flux deviation due to pressure iteration. In order to verify these methods, well controlled experiments have been repeatedly done with both water analog and gray iron pouring experiments to record the flow patterns and temperature variations. The calculated results are in accordance with the experimental ones. For the applications, the simulated initial temperature distribution right after mold filling was used to analyse subsequent solidification and to predict shrinkage defects. Actual castings were poured and tested in a foundry plant. The reuslts show that the defects predication with considering fluid flow effects is more precise than that without considering the effects.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF CASTING'S MOLD FILLING PROCESS

Numerical simulation of casting＇s mold filling process is the main and the most important aspect of the foundry CAE technology. But it is time-consuming; it may take dozens of hours or several days. While with the development of computer hardware, numerical simulation of casting＇ s mold filling process has made rapid progress. The simulation results, therefore, have become more and more practical. This study tries to find some clues of the computational time of mold filling process. Firstly, this paper introduces mathematic model and the basic route of numerical simulation of casting＇s mold filling process. Then the computational time of mold filling process has been carefully studied, and some new and useful results have been gained from the study of the computational time. Finally, this paper has given some real applications of numerical simulation of casting＇s mold filling process.

Mold Filling Analysis in Vacuum Infusion Molding Process Based on a High-Permeable Medium

The objective of this paper is to understand the flow mechanism through visualization experiments and discuss theinfluence of process parameters on mold filling process. A 2D leakage flow model is developed to simulate the moldingprocess, and the simulation results show good agreement with experiments.

Mold Filling and Prevention of Gas Entrapment in High-pressure Die-casting

This paper presents some results of direct observation of mold filling in a specially designed die-casting by X-ray diffraction, including comparison with numerical simulation. Based on such work the authors discuss how to prevent gas entrapment and propose new methods.

Mold Filling Behavior of Melts with Different Viscosity under Centrifugal Force Field

Recently proposed mathematical model for mold filling processes under centrifugal force field conditions and the computer codes were first tested through the sample simulation of gravity mold filling process for a benchmark plate-casting, which were compared with quoted experimental observations. The model and the developed computer program were then applied to the numerical simulation of centrifugal field mold filling processes for a thin-section casting with a titanium alloy melt of assumed viscosity of 1.2 and 12.0 mm2/s, respectively. The computation result comparison shows that the flow behaviors of the filling melts are basically similar to each other although the less viscous melt tends to fill into the thin section casting cavity faster.

An improved mathematical model to simulate mold filling process in high pressure die casting using CLSVOF method and CSF model

A 3D mathematical model was proposed to simulate the mold filling process in high-pressure die casting(HPDC) to improve accuracy considering the surface tension. Piecewise liner interface calculation(PLIC) and volume of fluid(VOF) methods were used to construct the pattern of the liquid interface. A coupled levelset and VOF method(CLSVOF) was proposed to capture the interface pattern and obtain its normal vector. A continuum surface force(CSF) model was used to consider the surface tension. Two water analogy experiments were carried out using the proposed model. Simulation and experimental results were analyzed and compared; and the effects of surface tension were also discussed. The simulation results agreed well with the experiments and the simulation accuracy was an improvement on interface geometries, liquid flows, and gas entrapments.

Study on Antigravity Mold Filling by Conservative Scalar Method

By SIMPLE method and Van Leer scheme, a program on numerical simulation for 3D mold filling has been developed. The fluid flow field of gas and liquid is calculated in couples by a single phase N S equation using SIMPLE method, and free surface control equation is handled by Van Leer scheme. Then it is verified by an anti gravity mold filling of thin wall plate. In order to demonstrate its ability to simulate 3D casting, an anti gravity mould filling of a cube is computed by the program.

Simulation and prediction of flow patterns in mold filling

The potential of a 3D FDM (Finite Difference Method) computer code was presented, in prediction of flow patterns by modeling the mold filling phenomena through different gating systems. In this code, improvements and modifications were made on the original SOLA VOF and Donor Acceptor algorithms. A more accurate solution procedure for handling free surfaces is developed in order to describe the flows through complicated gating designs. A block casting of 200?mm×200?mm×50?mm with two different gating designs was chosen as the verifying problem. Water analog studies are carried out on these two gating designs. The comparison indicates that computer simulation could be a powerful tool in shaping gating systems.

Liquid-Gas Two-Phase Flow Simulation in Mold Filling Process with Level Set Method

Air entrapped in liquid metal during the mold filling process seriously affects the casting quality, thus it is important to track its behavior in the mold cavity. A liquid-gas two-phase flow model is developed to describe the mold filling process and predict the air entrapment defect. The model is based on the combination of SOLA and Level Set Method. The pressure and velocity fields are calculated by SOLA,and the interface movement is simulated by Level Set method as the most common interface tracking method in recent years.In order to validate the feasibility of the model,the liquid-gas two-phase simulation results were tested by the broken dam problem and the S-shaped experiment. Comparison between the experiments and simulation results show that Level Set method might be a very promising tool in two-phase flow simulation during the mold filling process.

F）remature melt solidification during mold filling and its nfluence on the as-cast structure

Premature melt solidification is the solidifica- tion of a melt during mold filling. In this study, a numerical model is used to analyze the influence of the pouring process on the premature solidification. The numerical model considers three phases, namely, air, melt, and equiaxed crystals. The crystals are assumed to have originated from the heterogeneous nucleation in the undercooled melt resulting from the first contact of the melt with the cold mold during pouring. The transport of the crystals by the melt flow, in accordance with the so- called ＂big bang＂ theory, is considered. The crystals are assumed globular in morphology and capable of growing according to the local constitutional undercooling. These crystals can also be remelted by mixing with the super- heated melt. As the modeling results, the evolutionary trends of the number density of the crystals and the volume fraction of the solid crystals in the melt during pouring are presented. The calculated number density of the crystals and the volume fraction of the solid crystals in the melt at the end of pouring are used as the initial conditions for the subsequent solidification simulation of the evolution of the as-cast structure. A five-phase volume-average model for mixed columnar-equiaxed solidification is used for the solidification simulation. An improved agreement between the simulation and experimental results is achieved by considering the effect of premature melt solidification during mold filling. Finally, the influences of pouring parameters, namely, pouring temperature, initial mold temperature, and pouring rate, on the premature melt solidification are discussed.

Vacuum Infusion Molding Process Part 1:VIMP Based on a High-Permeable Medium

The visualization experiments were carried out to investigate the permeability of the high permeable medium (HPM) and the roles of the peel ply and the HPM in the mold filling.The influence of process parameters on mold filling is discussed.Furthermore,the whole vacuum infusion molding process (VIMP) procedure is introduced in detail taking the manufacture of a model boat for example.

Vacuum Infusion Molding Process (Part 2 VIMP Based on Grooves)

The optimal parameters for flow grooves and supply grooves were determined by a series of experiments,and the influences of various molding conditions on the mold filling process were analyzed.Furthermore,the whole VIMP procedure based on grooves was introduced in detail taking the manufacture of a sandwich panel as an example.

STUDY ON MACRO AND MICRO MODELING ON SOLIDIFICATION PROCESS OF SHAPED CASTING

Facing the market economy and global challenge the development ofmanufacturing industry especially casting industry is critical to the national economy. To reformthe traditional casting industry by using computer technology is one of the hottest researchfrontiers studied by many researchers and engineers. Computer simulation of solidification processof shaped casting can assure the quality of casting, optimize the casting technology, shorten thelead time and therefore decrease the developing and manufacturing cost. Recently, numericalsimulation of mold-filling and solidification processes of shaped casting and prediction ofmicrostructure and property as well are extensively studied and put into application in many castingplants with many successful simulation cases.