REVIEW OF NEW PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES IN THE ALUMINUM DIE-CASTING INDUSTRY

There have been many challenges in aluminum die casting to establish casting processes to produce high-integrity components from aluminum alloys. Advances in new casting technology mainly have been in pressure die casting; in particular, to obtain mold filling at low speed. This can be achieved by using innovative filling processes with aluminum alloys in the liquid or semisolid state. Different techniques such as high-pressure die casting (HPDC), Cosworth process, low-pressure systems, squeeze casting, indirect squeeze casting, metal compression forming (MCF), and semisolid metal (SSM) processing have been developed. Semisolid forming includes thixoforming and rheoforming. During the semisolid casting process, preheating by induction is needed to obtain the same temperature and the same liquid fraction through the billet in a short time. Thixocasting in the semisolid state helps to avoid turbulence during mold filling.     

镁合金铸造成形过程宏观/微观模拟

通过研究镁合金压铸过程中界面热,采用热传导反算法确定压铸过程的界面换热系数,研究镁合金压铸过程中工艺参数及凝固过程对铸件界面换热系数的影响规律,建立镁合金压铸过程界面换热边界条件的处理模型,以实现镁合金压铸过程中凝固过程的准确预测。通过实验研究镁合金压铸过程中凝固组织,建立了镁合金压铸过程中形核模型。采用CA方法,建立了镁合金枝晶生长模型,以实现镁合金凝固组织的预测。采用相场方法研究了镁合金枝晶生长形貌。     

支座半固态压铸模具设计研究

根据支座产品及半固态浆料充型凝固特点,选用压射比压70MPa,压射速度为1．5m／s,浇注温度590℃,模具预热温度为220℃,进行计算机数值模拟,确定半固态压铸模具的设计方案。设计并制造出支座半固态铸模具。通过支座半固态压铸实验,压铸充型凝固过程非常平稳,得到了合格的支座产品,证实了数值模拟结果及模具设计的正确性。     

镁合金压力充型与凝固过程的研究

研究了镁合金ＺＡ９１ＨＰ、ＡＭ５０ＨＰ,ＡＭ２０ＨＰ和铝合金ＡｌＳｉ９Ｃｕ３在高压力下的充型与凝固过程,结果表明,镁合金的充型能力比铝合金约低２５％－５０％;随铝含量的递减,三种镁合金的充型能力依次降低。数值模拟结果显示,镁合金在凝固发生之前具有与铝合金相同的充型能力。     

Microstructure,tensile properties and creep behavior of Al-12Si-3.5Cu-2Ni-0.8Mg alloy produced by different casting technologies

The relationship between the as-cast microstructure and mechanical properties of the Al-12Si-3.5Cu-2Ni-0.8Mg alloys produced by permanent mold casting (PMC) and high pressure die casting (HPDC) is investigated. The alloys in both PMC and HPDC consist of Al, Si, Al₅Cu₂Mg₈Si₆, Al₃CuNi, and Al₇Cu₄Ni phase. However, the microstructure of the HPDC alloy is significantly refined. Compared to the PMC alloy, the ultimate tensile strength of the HPDC alloy is significantly increased from 244 MPa to 310 MPa, while the elongation shows a reverse trend at room temperature. At low stress and temperature range, slight variations of stress exponent and activation energy indicate that the minimum creep rate is controlled by the grain boundary creep. Then the minimum creep rate is higher for the specimen with the smaller grain size, where grain boundary creep is the dominant creep mechanism. At high stress region, the stress exponent for the PMC alloy and HPDC alloy is 5.18 and 3.07, respectively. The different stress exponents and activation energies measured at high stress and high temperature range indicates that the creep mechanism varies with the casting technologies.     

真空铸造技术的研究现状

通过分析真空铸造在造型、充型、凝固过程中产生的现象，讨论了真空密封造型、实型真空铸造、真空吸铸、真空低压铸造、真空差压铸造等技术的现状，针对国内外发展现状提出今后真空熔模吸铸的研究与发展的方向。     

Physical Simulation of Mold-Filling Processing of Thin-Walled Castings under Traveling Magnetic Field

Mold-filling process of thin-walled castings under the condition of traveling magnetic field has been studied by physical simulation method using gallium melt and fast speed photography. Flow morphology and its formation mechanism were obtained and discussed for thin-walled casting. The influences of magnetic field density on the filling ability, filling velocity and mold filling time have been studied. The differences in filling capability between gravity casting and casting under the traveling magnetic field have been compared. The results indicate that the mold filling ability of the gallium melt increases greatly under the condition of traveling magnetic field; the filling time is shortened from 18 s under gravity field to 3 s under the traveling magnetic field and average flow rate of the melt increases from 1.6 to 8.68 cm3/s; the change law of the cross-section morphology of the gallium melt during the mold filling is that at first, the cross-section area does not change, then it decreases gradual     

Mold Filling Behavior of Melts with Different Viscosity under Centrifugal Force Field

Recently proposed mathematical model for mold filling processes under centrifugal field conditions and the computer codes were first tested through the sample simulation of gravity mold filling process for a benchmark plate-casting,which were compared with quoted experimental observations.The model and the developed computer program were then applied to the numerical simulation of centrifugal field mold filling processes for a thin-section casting with a titanium alloy melt of assumed viscosity of 1.2 and 12.0mm^2/s,respectively.The computation result comparison shows that the flow behaviors of the filling melts are basically similar to each other although the less viscous melt tends to fill into the thin section casting cavity faster.     

Heat Transfer between Casting and Die during High Pressure Die Casting Process of AM50 Alloy-Modeling and Experimental Results

A method based on die casting experiments and mathematic modeling is presented for the determination of the heat flow density （HFD） and interfacial heat transfer coefficient （IHTC） during the high pressure die casting （HPDC） process.Experiments were carried out using step shape casting and a commercial magnesium alloy,AM50.Temperature profiles were measured and recorded using thermocouples embedded inside the die. Based on these temperature readings,the HFD and IHTC were successfully determined and the calculation results show that the HFD and IHTC at the metal-die interface increases sharply right after the fast phase injection process until approaching their maximum values,after which their values decrease to a much lower level until the dies are opened.Different patterns of heat transfer behavior were found between the die and the casting at different thicknesses.The thinner the casting was,the more quickly the HFD and IHTC reached their steady states.Also,the values for both the HFD and IHTC values were different between die and casting at different thicknesses.     

Study on Numerical Simulation of Mold Filling and HeatTransfer in Die Casting Process

1. IntroductionDie casting is a very complicated process which involves the high speed flow of molten metal filling into3-dimensional complex geometry. The molten metalflow pattern and the temperature distribution of thedie casting and the dies, have a critical influence onthe quality of the cast products, the production rateand the die life.The application of CAE (computer aided engineering) analysis in die design gradually becomes possibleand popular. The main idea is to analyze or predict…     

Die Casting Mold Design of the Thin-walled Aluminum Case by Computational Solidification Simulation

Recently, demand for the lightweight alloy in electric/electronic housings has been greatly increased. However, among the lightweight alloys, aluminum alloy thin-walled die casting is problematic because it is quite difficult to achieve sufficient fluidity and feedability to fill the thin cavity as the wall thickness becomes less than 1mm. Therefore, in this study, thin-walled die casting of aluminum （Al-Si-Cu alloy： ALDC 12） in size of notebook computer housing and thickness of 0.8 mm was investigated by solidification simulation （MAGMA soft） and actual casting experiment （Buhler Evolution B 53D）. Three different types of gating design, finger, tangential and split type with 6 vertical runners, were simulated and the results showed that sound thin-walled die casting was possible with tangential and split type gating design because those gates allowed aluminum melt to flow into the thin cavity uniformly and split type gating system was preferable gating design comparing to tangential type gating system at the point of view of soundness of casting and distortion generated after solidification. Also, the solidification simulation agreed well with the actual die-casting and the casting showed no casting defects and distortion.     

Modeling of Mold Filling and Solidification in Lost Foam Casting

Based on the characteristics of the lost foam casting (LFC) and the artificial neural network technique, a mathematical model for the simulation of the melt-pattern interface movement during the mold filling of LFC has been proposed and experimentally verified. The simulation results are consistent with the experiments in both the shapes of melt front and filling sequences. According to the calculated interface locations, the fluid flow and the temperature distributions during the mold filling and solidification processes were calculated, and the shrinkage defect of a lost foam ductile iron casting was predicted by considering the mold wall movement in LFC. The simulation method was applied to optimize the casting design of lost foam ductile iron castings. It is shown that the model can be used for the defects prediction and for casting design optimization in the practical LFC production.     

Development of an interactive simulation system for the determination of the pressure-time relationship during the filling in a low pressure casting process

An interactive computer simulation system has been developed in this study to aid the determination of the pressure–time relationship during the filling of a low pressure casting to eliminate filling-related defects while maintaining its productivity. The pressure required to fill a casting in a low pressure casting process can be separated into two stages. The first stage is to exer pressure to force the molten metal to rise in the riser tube up to the gate of the casting die, whichvaries from casting to casting due to the drop of the level of the molten metal in the furnace, whilst the second stage is to add an additional pressure to push the molten metal into the die cavity in away that will not cause much turbulence and have the proper illing pattern to avoid the entrapment ofgas while maintaining productivity.

One of the major efforts in this study is to modify the filling simulation system with the capability to directly predict the occurrence of gas porosity developed earlier to interactively determine the proper gate velocity for each and every part of the casting. The pressure required to ill the die cavity can then be obtained from the simulations.

The operation principles and the interactive analysis system developed are then tested on an automotive wheel made by the low pressure casting process to demonstrate how the system can aid in determining the proper pressure–time relations, the p–t curve, required to produce a sound casting without sacrificing productivity.     

基于数值模拟缸体浇注系统的设计与优化

针对镁合金发动机缸体的结构特点设计了浇注系统,并用铸造分析软件对其充型和凝固过程进行了模拟。通过观察分析模拟结果,预测了充型时间、凝固时间以及铸件中可能存在的缩孔缩松缺陷的分布与尺寸,并设计了优化浇注系统。     

镍基高温合金调压铸造非线性压力曲线设计与验证

目的 针对变截面铸件在调压铸造充型阶段出现充型不稳定这一问题,结合数值模拟分析,提出非线性压力曲线的设计方法。方法 基于Pro CAST软件对不同壁厚和不同截面比的模型进行模拟,研究在不同加压速度和不同型壳预热温度下不同壁厚模型浇口速度的变化情况,以及在不同加压速度下不同截面比模型浇口速度的变化情况。针对数值模拟结果提出变截面模型工艺优化方法,设计特征模型进行数值模拟验证;推导在实际调压铸造充型过程中加压速度与充型速度的关系,并利用水力学模拟进行验证。结果 用非线性加压进行数值模拟,相对于线性加压充型过程,其浇口速度普遍呈下降趋势,其中最大浇口速度由0.29 m/s下降到0.2m/s,降幅为45%;在变截面前后,浇口速度呈周期性波动,说明非线性加压充型较为稳定;对推导出的加压速度计算公式进行了水力学模拟实验,从充型形态可以看出,在变截面处水流波动平稳,验证了加压速度计算公式的正确性。结论 通过研究变截面突变浇口速度的变化情况,提出了非线性加压方法,有效解决了调压铸造过程中出现的金属液飞溅、振荡、充型不稳定等问题,不仅提高了铸件的成品率,而且优化了调压设备的精准控压。     

基于计算机模拟的支架铸钢件铸造工艺设计及优化

目的对ZG270-500铸钢支架的铸造工艺进行优化设计,以达到工艺简单、成本低、操作简便、质量良好等要求。方法使用三维CAD软件和铸造模拟软件对相应铸造工艺方案进行了三维建模和铸造过程的模拟。针对工艺初始浇注系统设计了正放、倒放,底注式、阶梯式共4种不同组合的浇注方案。在对充型温度场进行模拟后,选择了倒放阶梯式与正放底注式浇注系统进行后续模拟。在对凝固进行模拟后,最终选择了正放底注式的方案并进行后续优化。在设计补缩系统时,通过多次调整冒口的位置与尺寸,以及冷铁的位置、尺寸与形状,达到工艺优化的效果。结果 4种初始方案中,倒放阶梯式浇注系统有利于顺序凝固,正放底注式浇注系统较为经济环保。凝固过程中,正放底注式浇注系统的疏松疏孔液相孤立区存在于铸件顶部,有利于补缩。初始补缩系统有效补缩了顶面两孔中心缺陷,优化后可使顶板和肋板的连接处,凝固最晚区域的缺陷大为改善。结论模拟表明,最终方案可基本消除铸件中的缺陷,保证铸件的质量与良好的工艺性。     

基于ProCAST的制动铸件精确成形数值模拟与工艺提升

目的 针对排气制动阀铸造工艺控制不当会产生缺陷这一问题,结合模拟分析,提出合理的铸造工艺方案,以减少铸件缺陷。方法 基于ProCAST软件对蝶阀阀体铸造工艺进行模拟,研究阀体铸件在充型、凝固过程中的速度场、温度场、固相率分布和缺陷分布,并根据模拟结果对工艺进行优化。结果 添加侧冒口和冷铁后,阀体的缩松缩孔缺陷得到了有效控制,缺陷体积减少了95%以上,获得了完整铸件。结论 通过铸造模拟有效指导了排气制动用蝶阀的生产实践,优化了生产工艺,节约了生产成本。     

铝合金压铸工艺数值模拟分析

采用压铸工艺成形铝合金薄壁长轴类零件。首先根据压铸模具浇注系统的设计原则,对铝合金件压铸模的浇注系统进行了设计计算;其次运用procast软件对铝合金压铸成形工艺进行数值模拟,根据压铸过程中的温度场云图,进行了压铸模具的热平衡分析和压铸件的充型凝固分析;最后针对模拟的结果进行了压铸模具的设计。     

基于UG 与CAE 的压力机底座铸造工艺设计与数值模拟

目的通过对压力机底座的充型凝固过程进行数值模拟,预测其浇铸质量同时基于模拟结果提出相应的工艺改进措施。方法使用UG与CAE软件对压力机底座铸造工艺进行三维建模和数值模拟分析。通过研究零件的结构特点,确定选取砂型手工铸造方法,并使用三箱造型,选取合适的分型面与浇铸位置。采用UG软件做出锻压机底座的三维模型和浇注系统设计,然后利用Anycasting软件进行充型模拟。对充型与凝固过程进行了整体的缺陷分析。结果利用Anycasting模拟浇铸过程发现,在整个充型过程中,充型平稳,无卷气、夹渣、缩孔、缩松等缺陷的出现。结论通过模拟结果确定了浇注系统和补缩系统设计合理,相应工艺设计合理,可以铸造出符合要求的压力机底座。     

铸旋铝合金车轮旋压模具的优化设计

目的 保证铸旋车轮短流程制造工艺的实现,提高旋压模具与同一轮型不同铸造毛坯的配合能力,防止因旋压后毛坯尺寸变化过大,造成车轮机加成品率下降的现象。方法 以某款车轮旋压模具为研究对象,对其旋压模具结构进行重新设计,增加定位滑块、垫板等设计,提高毛坯与模具的定位与配合,增强模具对毛坯的自适应性。结果 对改进后的旋压模具进行试验验证,新结构的旋压模具能够满足不同铸造毛坯的旋压,且控制上模压力在4.5 MPa内,毛坯尺寸合格,性能无影响。结论 该旋压模具设计的方法已经应用到了其他铸旋车轮的设计中。