Numerical simulation of the interface molten metal air in the shot sleeve chambre and mold cavity of a die casting machine

Abstract

The objective of this study relates to the numerical simulation of the free surface during the two-dimensional flow and solidification of aluminum in the horizontal cylinder and mold cavity of the high pressure die casting HPDC machine with cold chamber. The flow is governed by the Navier–Stokes equations (the mass and the momentum conservations) and solved in the two phase’s liquid aluminum and air. The tracking of the free surface is ensured by the VOF method. The equivalent specific heat method is used to solve the phase change heat transfer problem in the solidification process. Considering the displacement of the plunger, the geometry of the problem is variable and the numerical resolution uses a dynamic grid. The study examines the influence of the plunger speed on the evolution of the interface aluminum liquid–air profile, the mass of air imprisoned and the stream function contours versus time. Filling of a mold is an essential part of HPDC process and affects significantly the heat transfer and solidification of the melt. For this reason, accurate prediction of the temperature field in the system can be achieved only by including simulation of filling in the analysis.