Interfacial heat transfer coefficient between metal and die during high pressure die casting process of aluminum alloy

Abstract

The present work focused on the determination of the interfacial heat transfer coefficient (IHTC) between metal and die during the high pressure die casting (HPDC) process. Experiments were carried out on an aluminum alloy, ADC12Z, using “step shape” casting—so-called because of its shape. The IHTC was successfully determined by solving one of the inverse heat problems using the nonlinear estimation method first used by Beck. The calculation results indicated that the IHTC immediately increased after liquid metal was brought into the cavity by the plunger and decreased as the solidification process of the liquid metal proceeded. The liquid metal eventually solidified completely, a condition when the IHTC tended to be stable. Casting thickness played an important role in affecting the IHTC between the metal and die not only in terms of its value but also in terms of its change tendency. Also, under the test conditions, different change tendencies of the metal solid fraction were found between castings with different thicknesses and the die.