Development of a New Simulation Method of Mold Filling and Solidification Based on the SIMPLER Algorithm

Abstract

A new combined method is to be introduced and applied to the mold filling and solidification process. In the present method, the SIMPLER algorithm was adopted to solve the momentum and energy equations. The VOF (Volume of Fluid) method was also adopted to track the free surfaces in the filling process and the Equivalent Specific Heat Method to solve the phase change heat transfer problem in the solidification process. The staggered grid system was used to prevent the false velocity field and the non-uniform control volumes were used to improve the efficiency of calculation. The standard DAFA (donor and acceptor flux approximation) method was adopted in the VOF method. In order to verify the new combined method, the numerical results were compared with the experimental results of mold filling and other simulation methods. It is concluded that the new method can be used as an effective simulation method for the simulation of mold filling and solidification in the casting processes.