Abstract
Metal casting is one of the most energy-intensive manufacturing processes with limited resource efficiency. To solve the problem of high energy consumption, a novel counter-gravity casting process has been earlier introduced. This process also referred to as CRIMSON (Constrained Rapid Induction Melting Single Shot Up-Casting) makes use of melting metal, just enough to fill one mould cavity at a time. The molten metal is subsequently pushed into the mould with the help of a piston, using a counter-gravity controlled method. Although CRIMSON has been proven to be a highly efficient process with the potential to produce high quality final cast products, there is still room for optimisation of the process. The objective of this investigation is to estimate the optimum ingate velocity in order to ensure smooth filling of the mould and eventually reduce turbulence and the likelihood of defects in the final cast product. For this purpose, a computational framework integrating a CFD solver and an optimisation algorithm has been developed. The obtained results suggest that the optimised ingate velocity can contribute towards the smooth filling of the mould and effectively contribute towards the reduction of entrained air and surface defect concentration in the final cast product.
Highlights
Sand casting is one of the oldest [1], most widely used and versatile metal forming processes
Filling simulation In the simulation case presented below the mass source was removed at the end of the filling process and an additional 10 s interval was allowed for equilibration
It has to be noted that the equilibration phase was neglected when performing the optimisation loop as described in the methodology section. This was because the values obtained for the average surface defect concentration and air entrainment volume fraction in the area of the tensile bars with or without the equilibration phase were not significantly different
Summary
Sand casting is one of the oldest [1], most widely used and versatile metal forming processes. This process consists of two main stages which involve (a) pouring molten metal into a sand mould, (b) allowing for solidification and (c) removing the cast product by breaking the sand mould. John Campbell in [3] advocated some running and gating system designs leading to the minimisation of entrainment defects and superior quality castings. Campbell distinguished two gating system designs, namely, the Trident Gate and the Vortex Gate which can potentially lead to the elimination of entrainment defects. The potential of the aforementioned gating system designs to reduce entrainment defects was verified via means of numerical simulations [4]
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