Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer Simulations of the Cooling System in Low Pressure Die Casting

Year 2020, Volume: 16 Issue: 2, 161 - 168, 24.06.2020

Onur Ozaydin S. Fatih Kırmızıgöl Sercan Acarer Elvan Armakan

Abstract

Low pressure die casting (LPDC) is
the preferred method to manufacture cost-effective automotive wheels. Cooling
systems and channels of a low pressure die casting are critical to obtain
better mechanical properties. Both steady-state and time-dependent (transient) Computational
Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analyses of the cooling channels and the die cooling
system, both in conjugate and solid-only models, are performed and the pipe
flow part of the results are compared with the available experimental data.
Pipes operate at a schedule transiently, therefore a complex time-dependent
simulation is required. The aim is to construct a simplified approach in which
only the solids (die and cast wheel) are considered and pipe cooling is
represented by heat transfer coefficient distribution obtained from the much
faster steady-state simulations. Successful results are obtained by
significantly reducing the computational time while retaining the same accuracy.
Finally, cooling channels with eight different diameter stream-wise
distributions are analyzed to explore their impact on pipe exit velocity and
mass flow rate as a guidance towards future works. Wheels are cast with the
simulated cooling system and are approved
by mechanical tests.

Keywords

CFD, Conjugate Heat Transfer, Cooling Channels, Mass Flow Rate, Simulation

References

• [1] J. Sun, Q. Le., L. Fu, J. Bai, J. Tretter, K. Herbold and H. Huo, "Gas Entrainment Behavior of Aluminum Alloy Engine Crankcases During the Low-Pressure-Die-Casting Process," Journal of Materials Processing Technology, vol. 266, pp. 274-282, 2016.
• [2] M. Ayvaz and H. Çetinel, "Farklı Alüminyum Alaşımlarının, TIG Kaynak Yöntemi ile Kaynatılması ve Mekanik Özelliklerinin İncelenmesi," Celal Bayar University Journal of Science, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 39-46, 2011.
• [3] G. Timelli, D. Caliari and J. Rakhmonov, "Influence of Process Parameters and Sr Addition on the Microstructure and Casting Defects of LPDC A356 Alloy for Engine Blocks," Journal of Materials Science and Technology, vol. 32, no. 6, pp. 515-523, 2016.
• [4] M. Başaranel, N. Saklakoglu and S. İrizalp, "Etial 180 Alüminyum Alaşımına İlave Edilen Mg ve Sn Elementlerinin İntermetalik Fazlara Etkisi," Celal Bayar University Journal of Science, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 17-23, 2013.
• [5] X. Teng, H. Mae, Y. Bai and T. Wierzbicki, "Pore Size and Fracture Ductility of Aluminum Low Pressure Die Casting," Engineering Fracture Mechanics, vol. 76, no. 8, pp. 983-996, 2009.
• [6] K. Seah, J. Hemanth, S. Sharma and K. Rao, "Solidification behaviour of Water-Cooled and Subzero Chilled Cast Iron," Journal of Alloys and Compounds, vol. 290, no. 1-2, pp. 172-180, 1999.
• [7] S. Shahane, N. Aluru, P. Ferreira, S. Kapoor and S. Vanka, "Optimization of Solidification in Die Casting Using Numerical Simulations and Machine Learning," Journal of Manufacturing Processes, vol. 51, pp. 130-141, 2020.
• [8] L. Patnaik, I. Saravanan and S. Kumar, "Die Casting Parameters and Simulations for Crankcase of Automobile Using MAGMAsoft," Materials Today: Proceedings, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 563-571, 2020.
• [9] H. Fawzy, Q. Zheng, Y. Jiang, A. Lin and N. Ahmad, "Conjugate Heat Transfer of Impingement Cooling Using Conical Nozzles with Different Schemes in a Film-Cooled Blade Leading-Edge," Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 177, p. 115491, 2020.
• [10] T. Wei, H. Oprins, V. Cherman, E. Beyne and M. Baelmans, "Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Direct Liquid Jet Impinging Cooling Using 3D Printed Manifolds on Lidded and Lidless Packages for 2.5D Integrated Systems," Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 164, p. 114535, 2020.
• [11] L. Chen, R. Brakmann, B. Weigand, R. Poser and Q. Yang, "Detailed Investigation of Staggered Jet Impingement Array Cooling Performance with Cubic Micro Pin Fin Roughened Target Plate," Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 171, p. 115095, 2020.
• [12] H. Hu., F. Chen, X. Chen, Y. Chu and P. Cheng, "Effect of Cooling Water Flow Rates on Local Temperatures and Heat Transfer of Casting Dies," Journal of Materials Processing Technology, vol. 148, no. 1, pp. 57-67, 2004.
• [13] F. Mehr, S. Cockcroft, C. Reilly and D. Maijer, "Investigation of the Efficiency of a Water-Cooled Chill on Enhancing Heat Transfer at the Casting-Chill Interface in a Sand-Cast A319 Engine Block," Journal of Materials Processing Technology, vol. In Press, p. 116789, 2020.
• [14] S. Eck, M. Kharicha, A. Ishmurzin and A. Ludwig, "Measurement and Simulation of Temperature and Velocity Fields During the Cooling of Water in a Die Casting Model," Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vols. 413-414, pp. 79-84, 2005.
• [15] R. Akyüz, E. Kulalı, R. Soncu, C. Öztürk and M. Karaca, "Measuring of Core Split Line Defect on Pillar Type Vented Brake Disc and Investigation of Crack Occurrence Potential on the Disc Caused by Its Geometric Deviation," Celal Bayar University Journal of Science, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 1-7, 2020.
• [16] S. Gain, T. Silva, A. Jesus, A. Cavaleiro, P. Rosa and A. Reis, "Mechanical Characterization of the AlSi9Cu3 Cast Alloy Under Distinct Stress States and Thermal Conditions," Engineering Fracture Mechanics, vol. 216, p. 106499, 2019.
• [17] B. Milkereit, H. Fröck, C. Schick and O. Kessler, "Continuous Cooling Precipitation Diagram of Cast Aluminium Alloy Al-7Si-0.3Mg," Transactions of Nonferrous Metals Society of China, vol. 24, no. 7, pp. 2025-2033, 2014.
• [18] V. Kırmacı, "Vorteks Tüpünde AkışKan Olarak Kullanılan Hava Ve Argonun Soğutma Isıtma Sıcaklık Performanslarının Deneysel Olarak İncelenmesi," Celal Bayar University Journal of Science, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 191-199, 2007.
• [19] G. Liu, Y. Morsi and B. Clayton, "Characterisation of the Spray Cooling Heat Transfer Involved in a High Pressure Die Casting Process," International Journal of Thermal Sciences, vol. 39, no. 5, pp. 582-591, 2000.
• [20] A. Sabau and Z. Wu, "Evaluation of a Heat Flux Sensor for Spray Cooling for the Die Casting Processes," Journal of Materials Processing Technology, vol. 182, no. 1-3, pp. 312-318, 2007.
• [21] J. Lin, A. Mahvi, T. Kunke and S. Garimella, "Improving Air-Side Heat Transfer Performance in Air-Cooled Power Plant Condensers," Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 170, p. 114913, 2020.
• [22] B. Zhang, D. Maijer and S. Cockcroft, "Development of a 3-D Thermal Model of the Low-Pressure Die-Cast (LPDC) process of A356 aluminum alloy wheels," Materials Science and Engineering: A, vol. 464, no. 1-2, pp. 295-305, 2007.
• [23] N. Yıldırım, J. Buchlin and C. Benocci, "Simulation of Surface Instability at the Interface of Two Fluids," Celal Bayar University Journal of Science, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 365 - 377, 2017.
• [24] M. Özdoğan, B. Sungur, L. Namlı, B. Topaloğlu and A. Durmuş, "A Comparative Study of Turbulence Model Effects in Numerical Analyzing Flow around the Buildings Having Various Aspect Ratios," Celal Bayar University Journal of Science, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 585 - 595, 2016.
• [25] P. Sharma, L. Chandra, P. Ghoshdastidar and R. Shekhar, "A Novel Approach for Modelling Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer in an Open Volumetric Air Receiver using ANSYS-FLUENT," Solar Energy, vol. 204, pp. 246-255, 2020.
• [26] ANSYS Inc., "Ansys Fluent Theory Guide," 2013.
• [27] O. Özaydın, E. Armakan and Y. Çatal, "Soğutma Kanallarındaki Hava Tüketimi Azaltılması," TÜRKDÖKÜM, vol. 52, no. Temmuz Ağustos Eylül Sayısı, pp. 80-84, 2019.