Abstract
The water-meter shell has a complex-structured thin-walled cavity, and it can cause casting defects such as shrinkage and misrun. On the basis of structural analysis of a water-meter shell, a three-dimensional model and a finite element model of the water-meter shell were constructed using the SOLIDWORKS and ProCAST software as a modeling tool and a casting numerical simulation tool, respectively. Three processes associated with the bottom gating system without a riser, a step gating system with a preliminary riser, and a step gating system with an optimum riser were successively numerically simulated. The mold-filling sequence, temperature distribution, liquid-phase distribution during solidification, and shrinkage distribution of these three processes are discussed here. The numerical simulation results indicated that optimization of the casting process and the rational assembling of the riser led to the shrinkage volumes at the inlet position, regulating sleeve, and sealing ring of the water-meter shell decreasing from 0.68 to 0 cm3, 1.39 to 0.22 cm3, and 1.32 to 0.23 cm3, respectively. A comparison between model predictions and experimental measurements indicated that the castings produced by the optimized process had good surface quality and beautiful appearance, without casting defects, demonstrating that numerical simulation can be used as an effective tool for improving casting quality.
Highlights
The water-meter shell consists of a cavity containing water and a gear for measuring water flow, and high importance has been attached to its quality and performance
The trial-and-error method is mostly used in the traditional casting process design, and the design is improved on the basis of the experience of engineers and workers
These results show that these shrinkage defects were generated because of the large wall thickness, which resulted in a long solidification time
Summary
With the growing shortage of global energy and water resources, as well as the enforcement of legal metrology, ensuring the measurement precision of water meters has become imperative.[1,2,3] The water-meter shell consists of a cavity containing water and a gear for measuring water flow, and high importance has been attached to its quality and performance. Keywords Copper alloy, water-meter shell, casting process optimization, shrinkage defect, finite element analysis
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