Modeling of the thermal history of the sand casting process

S. Sulaiman
*
, A.M.S. Hamouda
Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
Abstract
This paper describes the modeling verication of the thermal history of the sand casting process. A simulation model of a two-ingate
mould and a three-ingate mould of sand casting are developed. The theory behind the model is based on the network analysis method where
a FORTRAN program, namely Thermal Network Analyzer, is used to calculate the numerical output. The analysis was done by
concentrating on chosen nodes as references. The change of temperature in the casting and sand with time was monitored. Generally, the
simulation results showed that every point in the mould was cooling. The heat was transferred from the casting to the sand and from the
sand to the surroundings. The predicted results were then compared with experimental data, the agreement between them being reported.
# 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Thermal; Modeling; Sand; Casting and network analysis
1. Introduction
Sand casting is one of the oldest casting methods. It
consists of placing a pattern (having the shape of the desired
casting) in sand to make an imprint, incorporating a gating
system, lling the resulting cavity with molten metal, allow-
ing the metal to cool until it solidies, breaking away the
sand mould, and removing the casting [1].
The greatest advantage of sand casting is that almost any
metal can be poured in the sand mould and there is almost no
limit on the size, shape, or weight of the part. Sand casting
provides the most direct route from pattern to casting.
Among the limitations involved in sand casting is the need
for machining in order to nish the castings, especially large
castings having rough surfaces [2].
Computer simulation of sand casting is becoming more
signicant nowadays. Therefore, it has grown rapidly with
increasing sophistication of computer hardware and soft-
ware. One of the main forms of simulation is a model of the
sand casting operation intended to determine the viability of
the process or to improve its product quality. Further,
computer simulation has the ability to generate or simulate
results for recurring processes at tremendous speed.
The process has been modeled using various mathema-
tical schemes. Finite element analysis has been applied
increasingly as software packages that are commercially
available and inexpensive.
In simulating the casting process, the numerical modeling
tool must feature a number of capabilities, including [3]: (i)
the ability to deal with different and non-linear material
properties; (ii) the capability to model heat transfer at either
internal or external surfaces and to account for thermal
interface effects between the cast part and its mould; and
(iii) the ability to map complex shapes.
2. Mathematical model
For all transient casting heat-transfer analysis, there is
heat transfer by conduction and a temporal depletion of
energy from the molten metal to cause its solidication. This
physics must be embodied into the mathematical basis for
the process.
The heat ow through a single homogeneous link (Fig. 1)
is given by
q = kA
dT
dx
(1)
which can be converted into a matrix form as
kA
L
1 1
1 1

T
1
T
2

=
Q
1
Q
2

(2)
where there are different materials joined at an interface
(Figs. 2 and 3), the matrix equation becomes
1
L
1
=K
1
A
1
L
2
=K
2
A
2
1=h
i
A
i
1 1
1 1

T
1
T
2

=
Q
1
Q
2

(3)
Journal of Materials Processing Technology 113 (2001) 245250
*
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: suddin@eng.upm.edu.my (S. Sulaiman).
0924-0136/01/$ see front matter # 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S0 9 2 4 - 0 1 3 6 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 5 9 2 - 1
and with heat loss to a cooling surface (Fig. 2)
1
L
1
=A
1
K
1
1=h
f
A
f
1 1
1 1

T
1
T
f

=
Q
1
Q
f

(4)
In a transient analysis, energy is removed fromthe systemby
conduction, where this transient energy loss per unit volume
can be expressed as

E = rC
dT
dt
or where phase change takes place over a nite temperature
interval:

E = r
dH
dT
dT
dt
(5)
In discretized form, at time-step j, Eq. (5) can be expressed
as

E = r
dH
dT
T
j1
i
T
j
i
Dt
" #
This can be combined with the conduction matrices (Eqs. (2),
(3) or (4)) to give an appropriate transient algorithm which
may be explicit, implicit or explicitimplicit (CrankNicol-
son). For example, for an implicit formulation and a homo-
geneous conduction link:
rV
dH
dT
1 0
0 1

kA
L
Dt
1 1
1 1

T
j1
1
T
j1
2
( )
= rV
dH
dT
T
j
1
T
j
2
( )
Similar equations may be derived by incorporating Eqs. (3)
and (4) for the appropriate heat removal path, where in the
die or mould the enthalpy gradient (dH/dT) is replaced by
the material specic heat. Thus for an implicit formulation,
the general form of the matrix equation can be written as
[C[ Dt[K[T
j1
= [C[T
j

Using this basis, the heat capacity matrix [C] needs to be

recalculated at each time-step to account for phase change
and where non-linear thermal conductivity {k(T)} is present,
the equation set needs to be solved iteratively within each
step with an update of the thermal conductivity at each
iteration [3].
3. Sand mould design
A sand mould with three ingates is used in this study. The
basic shape of the mould is shown in Fig. 4.
Fig. 5 shows a detailed drawing of the sand mould with
three ingates. All the dimensions are in millimeter (mm).
3.1. Mesh model generation
Basically, the analysis of the model is three-dimensional.
In generating the mesh model, the moulds are divided into
Nomenclature
A surface area (m
2
)
C specific heat capacity (J/kg 8C)
E energy per unit volume (W/m
3
)
H enthalpy (J)
K thermal conductivity (W/m 8C)
L length (m)
Q heat (W)
t time (s)
T temperature (8C)
V volume (m
3
)
Greek symbols
a, h heat transfer coefficient (W/m
2
8C)
r density (kg/m
3
)
Fig. 1. A single homogeneous link.
Fig. 2. Heat loss to a cooling surface.
Fig. 3. Different materials joined at an interface.
Fig. 4. A sand mould with three ingates.
246 S. Sulaiman, A.M.S. Hamouda / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 113 (2001) 245250
many elements. Smaller elements will produce more accu-
rate results but too many elements will make the pre-
processor more complicated. This is because both the mesh
model generation and pre-processor are done manually. For
these reasons the thickness of the model is assumed to be one
unit. Therefore, grid renement is only done at the cast-to-
mould interface where thermal gradients are steep in order to
achieve adequate representation of the heat transfer [3].
Please refer to Fig. 6. The material properties to be used
in the analysis are shown in Table 1.
4. Results and discussion
Fig. 7shows the positions of the 10points that correspondto
the experimental points. The temperature curves were plotted
from time 11200 s (20 min). Please refer to Figs. 816.
Fig. 5. A detailed drawing of the mould with three ingates.
Fig. 6. Mesh model of the mould with three ingates.
Table 1
Type of alloy LM6 aluminum alloy
Density 2660 kg/m
3
Thermal conductivity 155 W/m K
Specific heat capacity 963 kJ/kg 8C
Solidus 5748C
Liquidus 5828C
Fig. 7. Positions of points for the three-ingate mould.
Fig. 8. Comparison between thermnet and experimental temperature curve
at Point 1.
Fig. 9. Comparison between thermnet and experimental temperature curve
at Point 2.
S. Sulaiman, A.M.S. Hamouda / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 113 (2001) 245250 247
The molten metal in the sand mould took 11 s to fully
solidify. From Fig. 7, it is seen that Points 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10
are xed in the sand, whereas Points 2, 4, 6, 8 and 9 are in
the cast.
4.1. Sand points
Basically, for all the points that are in the sand, the graphs
have the same trend. These are shown in Figs. 8, 10, 12, 14
and 16. The temperature increases rapidly at the initial stage
but the process of cooling takes a long time. This phenom-
enon can be explained by Newton's law of cooling [4]. As a
fact, sand moulds are not fully compact with sand. There is a
Fig. 10. Comparison between thermnet and experimental temperature
curve at Point 3.
Fig. 11. Comparison between thermnet and experimental temperature
curve at Point 4.
Fig. 12. Comparison between thermnet and experimental temperature
curve at Point 5.
Fig. 13. Comparison between thermnet and experimental temperature
curve at Point 6.
Fig. 14. Comparison between thermnet and experimental temperature
curve at Point 7.
Fig. 15. Comparison between thermnet and experimental temperature
curve at Point 8.
248 S. Sulaiman, A.M.S. Hamouda / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 113 (2001) 245250
large volume of air trapped in the sand mould. Since air is
also considered as a type of uid, Newton's law of cooling
can be adopted. Newton's law of cooling states that the
heat transfer from a solid surface (cast) to a uid (air) is
given by
Q = aA(T
w
T)
Among the ve points in the sand, Point 10 has the highest
temperature, which is about 1238C at around 500 s. Only
Points 10 and 5 have temperature peaks that exceed 1108C.
This is because the points are situated far away from the
outer surface of the mould. Fourier's law of conduction can
explain this [4] as given by
q = kA
dT
dx
From this equation, the rate of heat ow decreases when the
thickness increases. This theory suits in all the graphs
perfectly, where the thickest part has the highest temperature
peak and the thinnest part has the lowest.
4.2. Cast points
For the points in the cast, all have the same trend except
for Point 6. These are shown in Figs. 9, 11, 13, 15 and 16.
The points in the casting have steep cooling curves at the
initial stage. However, the slope soon decreases. As before,
Newton's law of cooling can explain this phenomenon
where temperature difference has major effects.
For Point 8, it takes only 2 s to solidify. The maximum
time taken to solidify is 11 s, which is at Point 2. This is
because Point 2 is at the entrance of the molten metal into the
mould. Thus, this point has the latest and hottest metal
compared to other points since the temperature of the metal
drops as it ows further. This explains the additional time
taken by Point 2 to solidify.
From the results, the points in the product solidify faster
compared to points in the runner. The reason is the thickness
of sand from the product to the mould outer surface is only
50 mm, whereas the thickness from the runner to the outer
surface is 65 mm. Based on Fourier's law of conduction, the
points in the product will solidify faster.
4.3. Comparison between modeling and experimental
In comparing the simulation with experimental results at
various locations, points have been chosen in which both
simulation and experimental are presented for the same
coordinate locations as possible. However, for certain loca-
tions, the mesh is coarse. Therefore, the agreement between
model and experiment is not very close for some of the
graphs.
4.3.1. Sand points
Basically, for all of the sand points, the experimental
temperature curves are above the modeling curves for most
of the time. The shapes of the curves are generally the same
for both modeling and experiment. However, for the experi-
mental curves, the temperatures are uctuating whereas for
modeling, the temperatures change smoothly.
Overall, the graphs show steeper curves for experiment in
the initial stage. This could be due to many factors. Since it
happens to almost all of the sand points, this can be
considered as a systemic error of the experiment. For
instance, the point that is specied may not be the actual
location of the thermocouple in the mould. This is because
the thermocouple will move away from the supposed posi-
tion during compaction of the sand. Further, the length of
thermocouple that is exposed also affects the results.
Exposed thermocouples that are too long will create uncer-
tainty of the points' actual locations.
After some time, both the model and experiment curves
show a reduction of the heat-transfer rate, but the difference
is greater for the experimental curves. For Points 1 and 5, the
curves are almost parallel with the time-axis for a short
period. This has a close relationship with the latent heat of
the cast. Latent heat is the constant amount of heat being
released when the cast is changing its state from molten
metal into solid. The heat is then transferred to these points
after some time due to the inefciency of heat transfer from
the cast to the sand. Since the amount of heat is constant,
there are supposed to be no changes of temperature until the
metal has fully solidied. However, from the experimental
curves, the temperatures change slightly because this is not
the ideal case. For the modeling curves, the latent heat
cannot be distinguished.
Thus, generally all of the points display experimental
curves above the modeling curves. This is absolutely true
because for modeling, air is not considered in the calculation
of the program. There is a lot of porosity in the sand mould.
To be accurate, the trapped air should be taken into account
as well because there is large portion of the sand mould that
consists of air. Air has poor thermal conductivity. Therefore,
in the experiment, the temperatures are higher and the
cooling rate is lower. This problem can be overcome by
Fig. 16. Comparison between thermnet and experimental temperature
curve at Point 9.
S. Sulaiman, A.M.S. Hamouda / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 113 (2001) 245250 249
carrying out an experiment to determine the parameters of
the combination of sand and air together.
4.3.2. Cast points
All of the cast points have almost similar graphs, where in
the initial stage, the experimental curves are lower than
those for modeling. At the later stage, the results are the
opposite. For the initial stage, the experimental curves are
lower most probably because of the low pouring rate of
molten metal into the mould. Slow pouring of the molten
metal will increase the contact time between the metal and
air, thus cooling the molten metal even more. This is the
reason why the starting temperatures of the experimental
curves are lower.
At the later stage, the experimental curves are higher
compared to modeling. This is because of trapped air and the
porosity in the sand mould that reduce the heat-transfer rate
from the cast to the sand and the surroundings.
As for the sand points, the experimental curves have a
lower cooling rate compare to modeling. The reason is again
due to the trapped air and the porosity of the sand mould.
5. Conclusions
Generally, the program is capable of generating good
results based on the network technique. Nevertheless, the
most important of all, the properties of the materials
involved must be correct in order to obtain accurate results.
A sand casting three-ingate mould takes 11 s to fully soli-
dify. The last node to solidify is Node 114.
Comparing modeling with experiment, the experimental
temperature curves are generally higher than for modeling
for the mould. This is because of trapped air and the porosity
of the sand mould. Since the sand mould has a lot of air gaps,
the temperature should be higher than expected in the
simulation.
Acknowledgements
The project is nancially supported by Intensication of
Research in Priority Area (IRPA), under The Ministry of
Science, Technology and Environment, Malaysia.
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