166 Foundry Technology

Initial design
Special boundary
Material conditions, interface
Quick analysis properties heat transfer
(solidification time, (metal,mould) coefficients, etc.
modulus, etc.)
Solidification Stress
Rules,
Rigging simulation analysis
empirical
design (temperature, (shrinkage
charts, etc.
solid fraction, stresses,
velocity, etc.) distortion)

Microstructural Defect prediction Mushy zone fluid flow

evolution (macro and micro porosity, (macro segregation)
(grain size, misrun, etc.)
dendrite arm
spacing, etc.)

Figure 3.43 Typical architecture of a comprehensive solidification modelling

system. (from Upadhya and Paul103 ) (courtesy of American Foundrymen’s
Society)

filling and during freezing, heat and mass transfer during solidification,
microstructure development and volume changes; Jolly listed almost thirty
such items in a short review102 . Comprehensive modelling treatments do
indeed incorporate a number of these, as represented in the typical model
architecture shown in Figure 3.43, from a major review by Upadhya and
Paul103 , in which the principal factors were analysed in detail. The approach
used in the advanced systems is to provide specialized modules based on
the respective phenomena influencing mould filling, thermal stresses and
other contributing factors, using solution methods best suited to each.
Essential to accurate modelling and simulation is the availability of a
high quality database, providing property values for use in the heat transfer
and other analyses. Examples of such properties are listed in Table 3.8104 ,
which indicates the magnitude of the data requirement, given the many
distinctive cast alloys.
Full physical modelling requires workstation based computer facilities
and a substantial range of software. Long times can be involved, using
specialist operators and incurring appreciable costs, so that a balance needs
to be struck between absolute accuracy and the practical value of the results
obtained.
Simpler systems offer rapid analyses at lower cost and can be operated
on PC facilities by foundry staff. A typical approach employs the geometric
cooling modulus based on the Chworinov rule, further developed by
Wlodawer and extensively discussed in the present chapter as the main
quantitative technique routinely employed in feeding system design. Its
Table 3.8 Scope of thermophysical data required for the modelling of a casting process (from Quested104 ) (courtesy
of Institute of British Foundrymen)
Physics of Casting Process Thermophysical Data Required Modelling used for Prediction
Density vs Temperature Hot spots
Solidification Specific heat vs Temperature Effectiveness of Riser
Conductivity vs Temperature Effectiveness of Chill
Involving Latent heat of fusion Effectiveness of Insulation
Heat Transfer Emissivity–metal/mould/furnace wall Solidification direction
by Liquidus Temperature Solidification shrinkage
Conduction Solidus Temperature Microporosity
Metal Convection Interface heat transfer coefficient
Radiation metal/mould
metal/chill
mould/chill
Mould/Die/Shell mould/environment

Phase diagram Microstructure morphology

Chill Chemical species composition Grain size
Insulation Micro modelling Solid fraction vs Temperature Grain orientation
Furnace Number of nuclei per volume
Growth constant for eutectic
Diffusivity of solute in solvent
Gibbs Thompson coefficient

Viscosity vs Temperature Cold Shut

Surface tension Mould filling time
Fluid flow Coefficient of friction–metal/mould Effectiveness of Ingate
Effectiveness of Runner
Pouring rate
Pouring temperature

Stress/strain vs Temperature Hot tear

Stress analysis Thermal expansion coefficient Casting dimension
Casting distortion
Internal stress
168 Foundry Technology

adaptation to rapid simulation enables the order of freezing to be determined

and feed paths identified. The effects of certain design features such as fins,
ribs or cavities involving small cores can be subject to empirical corrections
analogous to those originally discussed.
Some of the more rapid methods can themselves incorporate limited
heat transfer calculations, to provide better approximation to behaviour
under various alloy and process conditions. The added complexities of full
modelling need only be introduced in circumstances where the additional
resources are warranted by the potential benefits.

Operations in full simulation modelling

The required 3D solid model can be constructed from 2D drawings, using
a digitizer facility incorporated in the computer software, or can be input
directly in the form of compatible CAD data, so saving computer time.
Computation and analysis can then proceed.
The central feature of the physically based systems is numerical heat
transfer modelling using finite element, finite difference, boundary element
and other methods to solve the relevant partial differential equations. The
cast shape is broken down into a 3D mesh or grid of small volume elements,
defined by nodal points, for which heat content and transfer calculations
can be made and the results integrated into a comprehensive pattern approx-
imating to behaviour in a continuous body. The accuracy depends on the
number of elements selected, which can extend to several million. This
naturally determines the computer power and time required for the analysis,
which in complex cases can be measured in weeks rather than minutes.
Accurate prediction of solidification and feeding, although primarily
concerned with heat and mass transfer during freezing, also requires
consideration of flow behaviour during filling of the mould cavity. As
discussed earlier in the present chapter, the speed and direction of flow
during pouring affects the initial temperature distribution in the mould.
Modelling of fluid flow using the appropriate equations is therefore
incorporated in the more comprehensive systems, the temperature profile at
the end of filling providing the initial condition for the subsequent cooling
and solidification stages.
Similarly, the modelling of thermal stress development in the solidified
parts of the casting enables account to be taken of phenomena which change
the heat transfer coefficient at the solid metal–mould interface, including
airgap formation. The wider problems of distortion, residual stresses and
hot tearing can also be addressed: elastoplastic behaviour and elevated
temperature properties of metal and mould are involved in this aspect of
modelling, posing a major further requirement for provision of data.
Of the principal analytical systems, the finite difference method is very
effective for heat transfer and fluid flow calculations and has been widely
used for solidification simulation, but is unsuitable for thermal stress and
deformation analyses. The finite element method is more flexible and