Numerical simulation of fluid flow and heat transfer during mold filling for die casting

A mathematical model was developed for simulating the fluid flow and heat transfer phenomena during mold filling for die casting by using the finite difference method. A computational program was developed based on the SOLA-VOF algorithm. The model was verified by numerically simulating the filling of a S-shaped cavity with either laminar flow or turbulent flow. The simulation results show that the turbulent model is more accurate for high-pressure die casting as compared with benchmark test results. Finally, the filling of a complicated 3-D die casting component was simulated with a 'transient surface layer' concept proposed to describe the temperature distribution in the die after the filling process.