Computer simulation of casting process is the frontier field of the development of global casting industry, the only way for the modernization of China’s casting industry, an important embodiment and approach of the modernization of the casting industry, and the focus and main research topics of experts and scholars in the casting industry around the world. The computer numerical simulation of the casting process can shorten the product manufacturing cycle, optimize the process flow, reduce the product cost, reduce the casting defects, and ensure the product quality. Therefore, it has become one of the most popular research topics in the field of casting.
Through computer numerical simulation, the casting quality can be predicted, including the formation and distribution of various casting defects and phenomena such as common defects, such as pores, shrinkage and porosity, expansion and shrinkage, air bubbles, sand flushing, cracks, cold shuts and insufficient pouring, etc., which can help designers to provide a pouring system with temperature balance and pressure balance, and intuitively understand the melt temperature distribution in the mold cavity through image display to avoid the occurrence of some defects, So as to reduce the blindness of formulating the casting process and the number of tests of the process parameters, which have a guiding effect on the actual production. Through the analysis and study of the process parameters, the casting scheme can be optimized, the casting quality can be guaranteed, and the production efficiency can be improved.
With the support of modern computer technology, relatively perfect mathematical model of casting theory and efficient experimental design scheme, computer numerical simulation technology can simulate the casting process more realistically, find problems and improve product structure or process parameters to ensure the rationality and feasibility of product design, which has a significant impact on shortening the production cycle, predicting casting defects, and reducing the cost of mold test and manufacturing. Computer simulation of casting process involves many fields such as casting fluid mechanics, heat transfer, solidification theory, process theory, numerical analysis and computer graphics. It is one of the frontier fields of the combination of material science and manufacturing industry. With the popularization of computer application and the continuous improvement of computer performance, computer numerical simulation will become one of the core parts of modern casting process design and the focus and trend of modern casting industry.
The important content of numerical simulation technology of casting process is to simulate and analyze the flow field, temperature field, temperature field, stress field and microstructure in the process of casting filling and solidification. By simulating and analyzing the flow state of the liquid metal in the gating system and mold, the design of the gating system can be optimized to prevent the liquid flow separation phenomenon caused by gas inclusion in the liquid metal during the mold filling process, and also to prevent the casting base metal from being oxidized by gas; By simulating the temperature field during mold filling process, defects such as porosity, cold shut and insufficient pouring can be predicted. By simulating the temperature and stress fields of liquid metal and mold during solidification process, defects such as shrinkage, porosity, stress concentration and cracks can be found. This computer numerical simulation process is more important for production analysis of extremely non-uniform thickness castings or thin-walled castings.