Process optimization for high pressure die casting of marine propeller with a hypoeutectic Al-Si-Mg Alloy

Abstract

An orthogonal experiment is designed to numerically optimize the high pressure die casting (HPDC) process for production of marine propellers, and the cavity filling and solidification behaviors of the HPDC marine propellers made of an Al-Si-Mg alloy are numerically simulated. The orthogonal analysis of simulated results for the design of experiment (DOE) shows that the die temperature was the most important factor which influenced the volume of shrinkage porosity of the castings, while the pouring temperature is ranked as the second influencing factor, and the gate velocity and intensification pressure followed in sequence. The optimal processing parameters with the pouring temperature of 720 °C, the gate velocity of 35 m/s, intensification pressure of 110 MPa and the die temperature of 220 °C are obtained. A comparison between the simulated results and the casting produced with the optimal process parameters indicates that the computer simulation is in good agreement with the HPDC experimental result. The quality of castings produced by the optimized HPDC is almost the same as the predicted shrinkage level, which meet the product requirement.