Fully Coupled Multi-Phase Mold-Filling and Solidification Simulation of Industrial Casting Processes

摘要

A fully coupled three-phase mold-filling simulation of gas and melt flow and the solidification process was developed to simulate complex phenomena in casting processes like the influence of the gas on the filling process and solidification of melt during filling. The simulation uses a fixed grid volume-of-fluid approach to separate the gas, melt and solidified phase. Gas and liquid phase are handled as compressible and an enthalpy method was used to model the latent heat release. The three-phase simulation was applied to an industrial die-casting process for a passenger car piston. Six cycles of the die casting process where simulated to gain a realistic temperature distribution on the mold before the filling. The three-phase simulation showed a turbulent flow at the beginning of the filling with overturning and splashing. Air bubbles travel from the inlet through the casting to the outlet. Solidification already starts during filling but the filling is not blocked by already solidified metal.