Integrated simulation of castings deformation during casting and heat treatment processes

Abstract

Deformation often appears in castings during casting and heat treatment processes, which determines the machining allowance setting and the machining size distribution of product. The paper presents a novel method for integrated simulation of the deformation behavior of castings during casting and heat treatment processes with a unified finite element model. Firstly, analyze the deformation of castings during casting process with the model containing mold and casting, and update the geometry of casting after casting process, then analyze the deformation of castings during heat treatment process and the final geometry shape of casting before machining could be obtained. By the method, investigation on the deformation behavior of a hydro turbine blade casting during casting and heat treatment processes was carried out, and the residual stress distribution and geometry shape of the casting were obtained