Deformation of titanium cross beams are similar to simulated results.
Recently, the ESI Group and The European Commission funded COLTS project released a study discussing the process modeling of a centrifugal casting system for titanium components.
Aeronautic engineers prefer to use titanium parts to reduce the weight of engines and airframes, which naturally results in reduced fuel consumption and the production of fewer greenhouse gases.
The study outlines cost efficiency techniques in the production process. This is namely done by using skull melting, a clean-melting technology for producing titanium parts. Skull melting caps the alloy super heat at a mere 40 ͦC above the melting point. At this low temperature the technique must employ centrifugal or complicated gravity casting to ensure the parts take shape.
ESI’s casting simulation software, Procast, was used to assess the system. The software had to predict potential casting issues such as inclusions, blowholes, miss runs, solidification porosity and cooling deformation. Furthermore, Procast was used to assess and optimize process parameters like filling time/temperature, mold rotation and mold pre-heat.
To complete the project, ESI needed to improve the ProCast software. These improvements include the fluid-flow solver, turbulent flow patterns and centrifugal direction’s effect on porosity.
According to Ole Köser, ESI Manager and team COLTS project team lead, “European projects significantly contribute to ESI’s research activity, enabling us to better support our clients in driving industrial innovation.”
Dr Rui Yang, Director from the Institute of Metal Research in China and COLTS participant adds, “the extended functionalities of ProCAST, gained through the COLTS project, will be invaluable at industrial level to set up cost-efficient centrifugal casting processes for titanium parts. Manufacturers using the software will gain a considerable amount of time and money, contributing to the production of better quality parts for aeronautical applications, both in Europe and in China.”
Source ESI Group.