Correlative thermal methodology for castability simulation of ductile iron in ADI production

The present paper investigates the simulation analysis of simultaneous mold filling and solidification of ductile iron casting in a permanent mold by virtue of its thermal characteristics. Thermal analysis was performed to determine the solidification behavior and nature of alloy of the melt during its solidification. It revealed the variation in the nature of alloy due to the variations in eutectic freezing and carbon equivalent of the melt. The obtained thermal parameters from the thermal analysis were further used for the casting simulation of the melt. The simulation results show a progressive solidification behavior of the casting. There is a significant decrease in the overall heat transfer coefficient with time during the solidification process. The simulation results were further verified experimentally. The experimental results show porosity defects at the top section of the casting. Two distinct zones (center and outer) were observed on the produced samples based on the average graphite nodule counts and average graphite nodule size.

► The nature of alloy and thermal characteristics of melt was analyzed by thermal analysis.
► Simulation analysis of simultaneous mould filling and solidification of ductile iron casting was investigated.
► Two distinct zones (centre and outer) were observed on the obtained samples based on the average graphite nodule counts and average graphite nodule size.