Cooling of a Massive Casting of Ductile Cast-Iron and Its Numerical Optimization

The numerical models of the temperature field of solidifying castings often observe two main goals: directed solidification and optimization of the technology. These goals can be achieved only if the deciding factors which either characterize the process or accompany it are analysed and their influence controlled. An original application of ANSYS, based on the numerical finite-element method, is applied. The numerical model simulated the forming of the temperature field of a two-ton 500×500×1000 mm casting from ductile cast-iron during the application of various methods of its cooling using steel chills. This model managed to optimize more than one method of cooling but, in addition to that, provided results for the successive model of structural and chemical heterogeneity, and so it also contributes to influencing the pouring structure. The file containing the acquired results from both models, as well as from their organic unification, brings new and, simultaneously, remarkable findings of causal relationships between the structural and chemical heterogeneity and the local solidification time in any point of the casting. This has established a tool for the optimization of the structure with an even distribution of the spheroids of graphite in such a way so as to minimize the occurrence of degenerated shapes of graphite, which is one of the conditions for achieving good mechanical properties of castings of ductile cast-iron.