Microstructure and defects in aluminum alloy castings: Numerical prediction and experimental verification
- Worcester Polytechnic Inst., MA (United States)
This paper deals with the effects of various solidification variables such as cooling rate, temperature gradient, solidification rate, etc. on the microstructure and shrinkage defects in aluminum alloy (A356) castings. The effects are first predicted using commercial solidification modeling softwares and then verified experimentally. For this work, the authors are considering a rectangular bar cast in a sand mold. Simulation is performed using SIMULOR, a finite volume based casting simulation program. Microstructural variables such as dendritic arm spacing (DAS) and defects (percentage porosity) are calculated from the temperature fields, cooling rate, solidification time, etc. predicted by the computer softwares. The same variables are then calculated experimentally in the foundry. The test piece is cast in a resin (Sodium Silicate) bonded sand mold and the DAS and porosity variables are calculated using Scanning Electron Microscopy and Image Analysis. The predictions from the software are compared with the experimental results. The results are presented and critically analyzed to determine the quality of the predicted results. The usefulness of the commercial solidification modeling softwares as a tool for the foundry are also discussed.
- OSTI ID:
- 227784
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9509118--; ISBN 0-87339-297-3
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
COMPUTER CALCULATIONS
CORRELATIONS
DENDRITES
FINITE DIFFERENCE METHOD
HEAT TRANSFER
IMAGE PROCESSING
LIQUID METALS
MAGNESIUM ADDITIONS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MICROSTRUCTURE
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
POROSITY
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
SHRINKAGE
SILICON ALLOYS
SIMULATION
SOLIDIFICATION
TEMPERATURE GRADIENTS