An Improved Geometric Model to Predict Hot Spots of Castings

Abstract

It is very important to predict the hot spots of castings properly, which is known as a criterion for riser design. In this paper, an improved geometric model for hot spot prediction is proposed, and subsequently, its application to hot spot analysis is presented. As we know, the heat dissipation potential of a location in a casting depends on its distance to the heat transfer surfaces. In a meshed casting, the reciprocal of distance from a certain cell to surfaces is calculated at all the six orthogonal directions, by which the heat dissipation potentials of every cell will be evaluated considering the influences of the neighboring grids. With the improved geometric model, there is no iteration during calculation, and only twice of cell traverse is required. The first traverse gets the distance reciprocal and the second focuses on the heat dissipation potential. The result of this model, which turns out similar to that of procedures based on heat transfer equations, reflects solidification sequence in a casting, hence the hot spots will be known instantaneously. Obviously this geometric model ignores many conditions during solidification process. However, messages like locations of hot spots are shown much faster and more conveniently than that of procedures based on heat transfer equations. Therefore, it is believed that it will shorten much time for casting technology design.