On the optimum plunger acceleration law in the slow shot phase of pressure die casting machines

The objective of this paper is to analyse a plunger acceleration law that is expected to minimize air entrapment in the slow shot phase of pressure die casting in horizontal cold chambers, and thus to reduce porosity in manufactured parts. The study is carried out using results from an analytical model of the flow of molten metal in the shot sleeve, which is based on the shallow-water approximation, and whose predicted optimum acceleration parameters are in good agreement with available experimental results. The results for the surface profiles of the wave formed during plunger movement using plunger acceleration laws which are typically used in pressure die casting are compared with those corresponding to the proposed law. Some analytical predictions for the wave profiles and for the mass of trapped air are compared with numerical results obtained from a finite-element code, which solves momentum and mass conservation equations. The limiting values of the initial filling fraction required for appropriate operating conditions are determined for wide ranges of acceleration parameters and pouring hole locations.     

Numerical simulation of molten metal flow under vacuum condition in high pressure and low pressure die casting process

Abstract

The vacuum analysis algorithm was developed to simulate the total system of high pressure die casting process including vacuum vent, cavity and plunger area. The various vacuum degrees (760, 650, 500, 250 and 60 mmHg) were artificially applied in cavity. The filling behaviours of molten metal under the applied vacuum conditions were simulated and compared with those of experiment. The filling amount in cavity was increased with the increase of applied vacuum pressure during partial shot experiments. The simulated filling behaviours of molten metal were relatively well agreed with those of experiment. Through the results of fluid flow simulation, the relationship of filling length and filling velocity with the variation of vacuum pressure was analysed respectively. And it applied to a real die casting product and the internal gas quantity of product was significantly reduced by modification of vacuum gate system.     

Effects of process parameters on morphology and distribution of externally solidified crystals in microstructure of magnesium alloy die castings

During the cold-chamber high pressure die casting(HPDC) process, samples were produced to investigate the microstructure characteristics of AM60B magnesium alloy. Special attention was paid to the effects of process parameters on the morphology and distribution of externally solidified crystals(ESCs) in the microstructure of magnesium alloy die castings, such as slow shot phase plunger velocity, delay time of pouring and fast shot phase plunger velocity. On the basis of metallographic observation and quantitative statistics, it is concluded that a lower slow shot phase plunger velocity and a longer delay time of pouring both lead to an increment of the size and percentage of the ESCs, due to the fact that a longer holding time of the melt in the shot sleeve will cause a more severe loss of the superheat. The impingement of the melt flow on the ESCs is more intensive with a higher fast shot phase plunger velocity, in such case the ESCs reveal a more granular and roundish morphology and are dispersed throughout the cross section of the castings. Based on analysis of the filling and solidification processes of the melt during the HPDC process, reasonable explanations were proposed in terms of the nucleation, growth, remelting and fragmentation of the ESCs to interpret the effects of process parameters on the morphology and distribution of the ESCs in the microstructure of magnesium alloy die castings.     

The influence of pressure during solidification of high pressure die cast aluminium telecommunications components

The effects of process variables on the quality of high-pressure die cast components was determined with the aid of in-cavity pressure sensors. In particular, the effects of set intensification pressure, delay time, and casting velocity have been investigated. The in-cavity pressure sensor has been used to determine how conditions within the die-cavity are related to the process parameters regulated by the die casting machine, and in turn the effect of variations in these parameters on the integrity of the final part. Porosity was found to decrease with increasing intensification pressure and increase with increasing casting velocity. The delay time before the application of the intensification pressure was not observed to have a significant effect on porosity levels.     

Water analogue validation of numerical model for fluid flow during slow shot phase in die casting process

Abstract

Air that becomes entrapped in the molten metal during the die casting process has a major effect on the formation of porosity in horizontal cold chamber die castings. In this study, a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model was developed to study the flow patterns of liquid metal in the injection chamber, in which the moving boundary conditions of the plunger movement was considered in detail. According to the principle of die casting machines, a water analogue system was designed and built to investigate the slow shot process. A colour high speed camera was used to record the fluid flow patterns under different plunger movement profiles. The numerical simulation results agreed well with the water analogue experimental results, which validated the numerical model of shot processing in the cold chamber of the die casting process.     

压铸镁合金缺陷带的组织特征及形成机理

研究了压铸镁合金缺陷带的组织形貌及分布特征,建立缺陷带与压室预结晶(ESCs)、气缩孔及压铸工艺参数之间的对应关系,在此基础上探讨了缺陷带的形成及演化机理。结果表明,压铸镁合金截面凝固组织以缺陷带为界可划分为3个有明显组织特征差异的区域。随着压铸低速速度提高,镁合金凝固组织中ESCs含量逐渐降低,而缺陷带组织愈加明显并向压铸件中心靠拢,缺陷带宽度减小,其内部孔洞更加聚集;高速速度越大,压铸镁合金凝固组织中ESCs越分散,缺陷带向压铸件中心靠拢,压铸在无高速速度情况下,镁合金凝固组织横截面出现双缺陷带现象。压铸充型过程中金属液流的形态决定了缺陷带的分布位置和发展趋势,在高速金属液的剧烈冲刷及增压压力的作用下,靠近金属液流外轮廓的晶粒发生破碎或转动,在晶粒间形成大于剩余金属液体积的间隙,随着凝固的进行,形成沿液流轮廓分布孔洞聚集的缺陷带组织。     

Feasibility of semi-solid die casting of ADC12 aluminum alloy

The feasibility of semi-solid die casting of ADC12 aluminum alloy was studied. The effects of plunger speed, gate thickness, and solid fraction of the slurry on the defects were determined. The defects investigated are gas and shrinkage porosity. In the experiments, semi-solid slurry was prepared by the gas-induced semi-solid (GISS) technique. Then, the slurry was transferred to the shot sleeve and injected into the die. The die and shot sleeve temperatures were kept at 180 °C and 250 °C, respectively. The results show that the samples produced by the GISS die casting give little porosity, no blister and uniform microstructure. From all the results, it can be concluded that the GISS process is feasible to apply in the ADC12 aluminum die casting process. In addition, the GISS process can give improved properties such as decreased porosity and increased microstructure uniformity.     

摩托车ZAlSi11Cu2MgMn壳盖压铸模的设计

根据铝合金壳盖铸件形状复杂、壁薄、外形尺寸小等特征,选用了J1125型卧式冷室压铸机。模具结构采用1模4腔。为了使之成形良好,设计了一个截面变形均匀且尺寸不大的主横浇道和4个对称分布、宽度逐渐变大、截面突然变窄的过渡横浇道,从而优化了压铸模具结构。     

Study on interfacial heat transfer coefficient at metal/die interface during high pressure die casting process of AZ91D alloy

The high pressure die casting (HPDC) process is one of the fastest growing and most efficient methods for the production of complex shape castings of magnesium and aluminum alloys in today's manufacturing industry. In this study, a high pressure die casting experiment using AZ91D magnesium alloy was conducted, and the temperature profiles inside the die were measured. By using a computer program based on solving the inverse heat problem, the metal/die interfacial heat transfer coefficient (IHTC) was calculated and studied. The results show that the IHTC between the metal and die increases right after the liquid metal is brought into the cavity by the plunger, and decreases as the solidification process of the liquid metal proceeds until the liquid metal is completely solidified, when the IHTC tends to be stable. The interfacial heat transfer coefficient shows different characteristics under different casting wall thicknesses and varies with the change of solidification behavior.     

压室慢压射过程流场模拟

气孔是压铸生产中的常见问题,导致这一缺陷的原因之一就是在慢压射过程中压室内的金属液流动卷入了气体.文中在压铸流场模拟的基础上,增加了移动边界条件处理冲头的移动过程,模拟了慢压射过程中压室内流体的流动形态.模拟结果与理论计算值及国外商品化软件的计算结果进行了比较,均比较吻合.     

Determination of the metal/die interfacial heat transfer coefficient and its application in evaluating the pressure distribution inside the casting during the high pressure die casting process

Abstract

High pressure die casting (HPDC) experiments were conducted on a 650 t cold chamber die casting machine to study the interfacial heat transfer behaviour between casting and die. A 'step shape' casting and two commercial alloys namely ADC12 and AM50 were used during the experiments. Temperature and pressure measurements were made inside the die and at the die surface. The metal/die interfacial heat transfer coefficient (IHTC) was successfully determined based on the measured temperature inside the die by solving the inverse heat transfer problem. The IHTC was then used as the boundary condition to determine the 3-D temperature field inside the casting. Based on the predicted temperature distribution, the pressure distribution inside the casting was evaluated by assuming that the transferred pressure from the plunger tip of the injection side to the casting is primarily influenced by the solid fraction of the casting. Reasonable agreement was found between the determined pressure values and the measured pressures at the die surface of the casting.     

基于数值模拟技术镁合金压铸模浇注系统优化设计

设计3种类型的浇注系统,运用铸造专用模拟软件JSCAST对3种浇注系统进行压铸数值模拟试验,分析液态金属充型及凝固过程中的速度场和温度场的分布,根据凝固规律有效预测铸件中可能存在缩孔及气孔缺陷的分布,从而选取T型浇注系统作为缸盖罩的最佳浇注系统并对其进行优化。试验结果验证了优化设计的可行性以及压铸过程数值模拟的可靠性,对压铸生产具有一定的指导意义。     

型腔中气体对薄壁铝合金铸件充型能力的影响

采用一体化反重力铸造机在不同的试验参数下,浇注高300 mm,宽60 mm,壁厚分别为2mm、3mm和4mm的D357铝合金试样.分别从浇注过程中铸型的发气量、型腔中预有气体、排气条件三个方面研究了型腔中气体对薄壁铝合金铸件充型能力的影响.结果表明:在调压铸造条件下,当砂型发气量较大时,铸件最后充填位置容易产生浇不足缺陷,铸件内部容易产生大量气孔缺陷.在排气较弱的条件下,调压铸造充型能力最好,低压铸造次之,差压铸造的充型能力最差.调压铸造时,型腔中气体较少,采取不同的排气措施对薄壁铸件的充型能力影响不大,低压铸造时,当排气能力较弱时,薄壁铸件的充型能力显著下降,同时容易出现裹气现象.     

Characterization of A390 aluminum alloy produced at different slow shot speeds using vacuum assisted high pressure die casting

The effects of vacuum assistance on the microstructure and mechanical properties of high pressure die cast A390 alloy at different slow shot speeds were evaluated. Plate-shaped specimens of hypereutectic A390 aluminum alloy were produced on a TOYO BD-350V5 cold chamber die casting machine incorporated with a self-improved TOYO vacuum system. According to the results, the vacuum pressure inside the die cavity increased linearly with the increasing slow shot speed at the beginning of mold filling. Meanwhile, tensile properties of vacuum die castings were deteriorated by the porosity content. In addition, the average primary silicon size decreased from 23 to 14 µm when the slow shot speed increased from 0.05 to 0.2 m/s, which has a binary functional relationship with the slow shot speed. After heat treatment, microstructural morphologies revealed that needle-shaped and thin-flaked eutectic silicon particles became rounded while Al₂Cu dissolved into α(Al) matrix. Furthermore, the fractography revealed that the fracture mechanism has evolved from brittle transgranular fracture to a fracture mode with many dimples after heat treatment.     

冷室压铸机压室内液体金属流动行为的模拟

以冷室压铸机压室直径、充填率、冲头速度及加速度为参数进行四因素三水平正交试验,用FLOW-3D软件模拟不同的参数对压室内铝合金液体金属流动过程的影响,发现冲头速度影响最为显著。     

低压铸造铝合金薄壁件成型压力因素模拟

采用有限元模拟仿真软件对铝合金汽车座椅骨架低压铸造工艺进行数值模拟,研究了低压铸造加压工艺中的充型压力、充型加压速率及增压压力对铸件缩松缩孔的影响.模拟结果表明:充型压力和充型加压速率的提高,有助于提高薄壁件的充型能力;对于特定的薄壁件,存在一个临界增压速率,使得缩松缩孔率最小.另外,随着增压压力的提高,缩松缩孔率减小.     

Mechanism of die soldering during aluminum die casting

Soldering is a unique casting defect associated with die casting or metal mold casting of aluminum alloys. It occurs when molten aluminum sticks or solders the surface of the die steel and remains there after the ejection of the casting, causing a surface defect and dimensional inaccuracy of the castings and increased machine downtime. Soldering occurs easily when a bare die steel mold is used for die casting of aluminum alloys. When molten aluminum comes in contact with the die steel at a temperature higher than a critical temperature, the iron and aluminum atoms diffuse into each other, forming a series of intermetallic phases and a liquid aluminum-rich fcc phase. This liquid phase exists between intermetallic phases. On cooling, the liquid fcc phase solidifi es on the intermetallic phases and grows into the casting, resulting in soldering. The critical temperature is the eutectic temperature near the aluminum corner of the phase diagram. If the die is protected using a nonreactive ceramic coating, soldering starts at locations where local coating failure occurs. Molten aluminum comes into contact with die steel through the coating failure locations and eats into the steel matrix, forming small pits. As these small pits grow, the coating is gradually removed and soldering becomes more severe. Details of die soldering step on a bare steel die and on a coated die material are discussed.     

基于数值模拟的压铸过程低速工艺优化

低速压射过程中冲头的运动分为封闭浇料口、匀加速和匀速低速三个阶段,各个阶段的工艺参数对压室内金属液的流动形态都有重要作用,进而影响铸件中气孔缺陷的产生。采用数值模拟技术来研究不同工艺参数下压室内金属液的流动形态,对低速工艺进行优化。针对压射过程冲头的运动特征,引入了移动速度、压力边界条件,开发了压室压射过程三维数值模拟程序。结合慢压射临界速度理论,模拟了不同料口封闭速度、加速度和慢压射速度下压室内金属液波形的发展。模拟结果表明采用优化的工艺参数可以降低压室内的卷气。     

Die design and process optimization of die cast V6 engine blocks

1. Introduction Due to fuel economy and emission pressures, the use of aluminum continues to rise in the automotive industry. Aluminum's use in automobiles worldwide has gone from 45 kg (101 lbs) in the 1970s to more than 100 kg (225 lbs) today, and will top 150 kg (337 lbs) per vehicle by 2010. Over the past 10 years, shipments of aluminum castings increased by nearly 65%. Aluminum casting weight per vehicles is also forecast to grow to 123 kg (270 lbs) by 2011 [1]. The major impetus behind …