Iranian Journal of Materials Science and Engineering

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In this investigation, α 2-D Finite Volume Method (FVM) with unstructured triangular mesh is developed to simulate the mould filling process. The simulation of fluid flow and track of free surface is based on the Marker And Cell (MAC) technique. This technique has capability ofhandling the arbitrary curved solid boundaries in the casting processes. In order to verify the computational results of the simulation, a thin disk plate with transparent mould was tested. The mould filling process was recorded using a 16mm high-speed camera. Images were analyzed frame by frame, in order to tracking of free surface and filling rate during mould filling. Comparison between the experimental method and the simulation results has shown a good agreement.

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In this investigation a new model was developed to calculate gas pressure at the melt/foam interface (Gap) resulting from foam degradation during mould filling in the Lost Foam Casting (LFC) process. Different aspects of the process, such as foam degradation, gas elimination, transient mass, heat transfer, and permeability of the refractory coating were incorporated into this model. A Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) code was developed based on the numerical technique of the SOLution Algorithm- Volume Of Fluid (SOLA- VOF) utilizing model, for the simulation and prediction of the fluid flow in the LFC process. In order to verify the computational results of the simulation, a thin plate of gray iron was poured into a transparentfoam mould. The mould filling process was recorded using a 16mm high-speed camera. Images were analysed frame by frame, in order to measuring foam depolymerization rate and the gap volume during mould filling. Comparison between the experimental method and the simulation results, for the LFC filling sequence, has shown a good agreement.

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During mold filling, molten metal can only advance as quickly as the air inside thecavity is expelled. In this work an analytical model describing air flow is developed based on aincompressible flow theory. Air pressure has serious effects upon the filling behaviour such assurface profile and filling time. In this work a new mathematical model is proposed for calculationthe air pressure during the mold filling. A single phase computational fluid dynamic code based onthe SOLA-VOF algorithm used for prediction the fluid flow. Air discharged through the vents ismodelled by ideal gas assumption, conservation of mass equation and Bernoulli law. A newalgorithm was developed to interpolates the air pressure on the surface cell. The creation of airback pressure was correlated with sizes of vents and pouring basin height. In order to verify thecomputational results a series of experimental test was conducted. Comparison between theexperimental data and simulation results has shown a good agreement.

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In the present work, a model was proposed to predict the thermal history during rapid solidification (RS) of metal droplets in the gas atomization process. The classical theory of heterogeneous nucleation was based on Newtonian heat flow and enthalpy method. Solving the governing numerical equations by the finite difference method (FDM) gave up the opportunity of analyzing the temperature-time history of the droplets during cooling in the RS process. Here, cooling in the liquid state, nucleation and recalescence, segregated solidification, eutectic solidification and cooling in the solid state were considered. To verify the model, the gas atomization of Al-4.5% Cu alloy was studied and the results were compared with the Shukla's model [1]. Convincing agreement was obtained between the predicted undercoolings and the experimental results reported previously.

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In the present study a Finite Difference Method has been developed to model the transient incompressible turbulent free surface fluid flow. A single fluid has been selected for modeling of mold filling and The SOLA VOF 3D technique was modified to increase the accuracy of simulation of filling phenomena for shape castings. For modeling the turbulence phenomena k-e standard model was used. In order to achieve an accurate model, solving domain was discrete to three regions includes: laminar sub layer, boundary layer and internal region. This model was applied to experimental models such as a driven cavity, Campbell benchmark [1] and top filled cavity. The results show that the suggested model yield favorable predictions of turbulence flow and have a good consistency in comparing with experimental results.

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Abstract: In this study an algorithm for mold-filling simulation with consideration of surface tension has been developed based on a SOLA VOF scheme. As the governing equations, the Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible and laminar flows were used. We proposed a way of considering surface tension in mold-filling simulation. The proposed scheme for surface tension was based on the continuum surface force (CSF) model we could confirm the remarkable effectiveness of the surface tension by experiment which concluded in very positive outcome.

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The wide-gap aluminothermic rail welds with root opening of 50-70 mm were produced using plain carbon steel rail and non-alloy aluminothermic charge. Mechanical properties and micro-structure of the weld metal and HAZ as well as the impact energy and the fracture toughness of the welds were investigated. The yield and tensile strength of wide-gap welds were about 98% and 95% of the base metal, respectively. Both minimum and maximum hardnesses of the joint were seen in HAZ which were related to the grain coarsening and normalizing, respectively. The mean value of wide-gap weld fracture toughness is more than narrow-gap weld. Moreover, trans-granular cleavage indicated the brittle fracture mode of the weld metal.

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Abstract: During solidification and casting in metallic molds, the heat flow is controlled by the thermal resistance at the casting-mold interface. Thus heat transfer coefficient at the metal- mold interface has a predominant effect on the rate of heat transfer. In some processes such as low pressure and die-casting, the effect of pressure on molten metal will affect the rate of heat transfer at least at initial steps of solidification. In this study interfacial heat transfer coefficient at the interface between A356 alloy casting and metallic mold during the solidification of casting under pressure were obtained using the IHCP (Inverse Heat Conduction Problem) method. Temperature measurements are then conducted with the thermocouples aligned in the casting and the metallic mold. The temperature files were used in a finite-difference heat flow program to estimate the transient heat transfer coefficients. The peak values of heat transfer coefficient obtained for no pressure application of A356 alloy is 2923 and for pressure application is 3345 . Empirical equation, relating the interfacial heat transfer coefficient the applied pressure were also derived and presented.

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This article examines the Weibull statistical analysis that was used for investigating the effect of melt filtration on tensile properties and defects formed inside the casting. Forming and entrapping of double oxide films have been explained by using the context of critical velocity of melt in the runner. SutCast software results were used to examine the amounts of the velocity of melt as such. SEM/EDX analysis is used to observe the presence of double oxide films in the fracture surfaces of the tensile specimens. The article goes on to propose that castings made with foam filters with smaller pores show higher mechanical properties and reliability due to higher Weibull modulus and fewer defects

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The combined influence of both melt filtration and cooling rate on the microstructure features and mechanical properties of A356 cast alloy was studied. A step casting model with five different thicknesses was used to obtain different cooling rates. The effect of melt filtration was studied by using of 10 and 20 ppi ceramic foam filters in the runner. Results showed that secondary dendrite arm spacing decreased from 80 μm to 34 μm with increasing cooling rate. Use of ceramic foam filters in the runner led to the reduction of melt velocity and surface turbulence, which prevented incorporation of oxide films and air in the melt, and consequently had an overall beneficial effect on the quality of the castings. A matrix index, which is the representative of both SDAS and microporosity content, was defined to consider the simultaneous effect of melt filtration and cooling rates on UTS variations. Also, the fracture surface study of test bars cast using 10 and 20 ppi ceramic foam filters showed features associated with ductile fracture.