Toward the development of a thermal-stress model of an industrial counter pressure casting process

Abstract

It is argued that the Counter Pressure Casting (CPC) process is superior over low-pressure die casting (LPDC) in terms of reducing defects and improving cast product performance. To date, there has been relatively little research conducted on the CPC process to provide reliable data to confirm this argument. In this work, a plant trial has been done on an industrial CPC process using a custom-designed ‘H-shaped’ die to acquire an extensive amount of quantitative process data. The data acquired includes temperatures obtained from within the die, the casting, the surrounding environment, and within specific die cooling channels. The data has been processed and analysed to support the development of a comprehensive thermal-stress model of the casting process in order to better understand and quantify the essential macro transport processes. This paper presents a methodology of a coupled thermal-stress model development on the CPC process, and the preliminary results obtained from the models. The results to-date clearly show the need for a fully coupled thermal-stress analysis for the particular casting geometry and process conditions examined. Some of the challenges associated with the current modelling approach are also identified and potential solutions presented.