LOW PRESSURE CASTING OF ALUMINIUM ALLOYS: EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION OF PROCESS SIMULATION

The validation, by means of experimental tools, of numerical simulation techniques applied to foundry processes, is fundamental, in view of the use of such techniques in as engineering tools. The potential of numerical simulation of casting processes is enormous (visualisation of cavity filling and alloy solidification and cooling, prediction of microstructure and properties), once their reliability is verified. This paper, with reference to the production of Aluminium alloy wheels by means of low pressure die casting, is aimed at comparing the results of numerical simulation of the process (thermal fields in the alloy and in the die, distribution of solidification times) to experimental determinations (thermocouples, infrared camera, microstructural features of the casting). This comparison shows a very good agreement between simulation and reality, supporting a wider diffusion of this technique in designing industrial casting processes.