Thermal Fatigue Life Prediction under Temperature Uncertainty for Shot Sleeve of Squeeze Casting Machine

To quantify the influence of temperature uncertainty on thermal fatigue life prediction of a shot sleeve in an injection mechanism, an uncertainty analysis method based on a Kriging surrogate model and Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) was proposed. The training samples of the surrogate model were obtained by a finite element simulation, and the response relationships between input variables, such as pouring and preheating temperature, and target variables, such as strain and stress, were constructed by the Kriging surrogate model. The input variables were sampled by the MCS, and the predicted stress and strain parameters were combined with the modified universal slope equation to predict the thermal fatigue life of the shot sleeve. The statistical characteristics of the predicted life were obtained. The comparative analysis results indicate that the predicted life considering temperature uncertainty is more accurate than the deterministically predicted value.

Effects of shot sleeve filling in HPDC machine

Purpose High-pressure die casting is one of the manufacturing techniques used for the rational mass production of metal parts. Due to the high velocity of the molten metal during the injection phase, the die casting of aluminum is so complex and it is almost impossible to calculate these exact performances. Numerical simulation is an effective way to optimize the injection phase and minimize air entrapment that causes porosity defects in the metal. Generally, the filling phase of the molten metal in the shot sleeve is neglected in most scientific work. This phase is followed by a rest period to allow the escape of the resident air bubbles (gravity effect). The paper aims to discuss these issue. Design/methodology/approach It is relatively clear that the model described poses a great challenge for numerical implementation, especially for 3D geometries. The governing transport equations are solved numerically using the commercial CFD solver Fluent and the equations are discretized using a pressure-based finite volume method. The coupling pressure–velocity was solved by the PISO algorithm. The PISO algorithm takes relatively more CPU time per solver iteration, but it significantly decreases the number of iterations required for the convergence of the transient flow problems. Laminar flow inside air and molten metal was assumed. In order to describe the behavior of the molten metal, a VOF model has been activated. The model makes it possible to account for the moving boundary due to the variation of the shot sleeve volume caused by the plunger displacement. The scheme used in the discretization of momentum equation was the first-order upwind scheme, and the scheme used for the pressure was the PRESTO. The profile of the plunger velocity, boundary conditions change with time and the physical properties change with liquid fraction were used by implementation of a user-defined function. For the discretization of the domain, an unstructured mesh with triangular elements is used. After conducting mesh sensitivity study, a mesh having 53,813 triangular elements has been chosen for the present study. The convergence criterion was set equal to 10–4 for all parameters. Findings The results show that the rest and global filling times increase by 2.5 and 8.57 percent with decreasing the pouring velocity by 10 percent. In addition, the rest and global filling times decrease by 5.77 and 8.12 percent with increasing the pouring velocity by 10 percent. Originality/value After the filling phase, it is necessary to offer a rest period before the injection phase. However, the rest and global filling times increase by 2.5 and 8.57 percent with decreasing the pouring velocity by 10 percent. In addition, the rest and global filling times decrease by 5.77 and 8.12 percent with increasing the pouring velocity by 10 percent. Increasing the pouring velocity by 10 percent leads increasing of the molten metal velocity in the shot sleeve and requires a delay of time of the beginning of the faster plunger movement by 7–10.5 percent. On the other hand, Figure 12 shows that increasing the pouring velocity requires increasing of the plunger velocity during the injection phase, thus increasing the pouring velocity. In order to overcome this problem, it is necessary to reduce the injection velocity and prolong the period of the slower plunger movement.

Controlling and Minimizing Blistering during T6 Heat Treating of Semi-Solid Castings

Surface blistering during T6 heat treating is an artifact that is essentially unique to high pressure casting processes such as semi-solid casting and die casting. It is believed that the blistering originates from subsurface defects present in the castings. When the castings are exposed to elevated temperatures during solution heat treatment, the strength of the aluminum is reduced, and the defects expand to deform the surfaces of the castings. There are three potential sources for the subsurface defects - entrapped air, die lubricant or shot sleeve lubricant.This paper will report on a study to determine the origin of the defects present in the castings that produce the blisters. Along with attempting to separate the influence of air and the two types of lubricants on blister formation, the study will also examine the impact of a number of process parameters on blistering.

Ultrasonic Rheo-Diecasting of A383 Aluminum Alloy

In this study, un-refined A383 aluminum alloy was cast at different temperatures using ultrasonic melt treatment. The liquid alloy was treated by ultrasonic vibrations in the crucible and/or in the shot sleeve of a pressure diecasting machine. The treatment temperature extended to the semisolid temperature range. The UST melt could be injected into the die cavity while being in the semisolid state which is known as rheodiecasting. The results showed that ultrasonic treatment resulted in finer microstructure, globular Fe-intermetallic particles and partially modified eutectic Si. For samples solidified in shot sleeve: Fe-intermetallics become compacted with UST at all positions of ingot. Si particles are compacted in less acicular form near to horn and acicular at other positions. For the rheo-diecasting experiments, with UST treatment in the crucible and die casting, at 600-588 C and 588-578C, Fe-intermetallics were observed in compact form, and Si particles were highly modified.