Understanding the occurrence of the surface turbulence in a nonpressurized bottom gating system: Numerical simulation of the melt flow pattern

Abstract

Surface turbulence during the filling of the mold triggers the entrainment of oxide films, which appears to be detrimental to the soundness of the final casting. Nonpressurized and bottom-gating systems have been employed in order to avoid such casting defects by reducing the surface velocity of the liquid metal. However, recent studies have shown that the melt front velocity in the mold entrance may exceed the critical value in the nonpressurized and bottom-gating systems. Therefore, a study was conducted on numerical simulation melt flow pattern in nonpressurized and bottom-gating systems. It was noted that the liquid metal enters the gate and then mold cavity with a higher velocity by formation of dead zones and vortex flows in runner's end. Therefore, the current designs based on conventional gating system ratio seem to be not optimized and unable to avoid the surface turbulence. Numerical results were in complete agreement with experimental observations. Understanding the reasons for occurrence of the surface turbulence in nonpressurized and bottom-gating systems provides information on the required steps to improve the design of the gating systems and minimize the entrainment of oxide films during the filling of the mold.