Evaluation of flow simulation results of gray cast iron brake disk for alternative gating system design

Abstract

In this study, an attempt has been made to develop a different design for a gray cast iron rear brake disk used in the automotive industry, which can serve as an alternative to traditional designs. The designs were created to enable the production of this brake disk on the Disamatic vertical molding machine. The purpose of this study is to prevent casting defects that may occur in traditional designs. The simulation parameters were clearly explained and the correctness of the mesh structure was stated. These are the necessary parameters to show how reliable our study is. In order to minimize air bubble and sand inclusion defects encountered in the casting of a 4.5-kg automobile brake disk, different runner system simulations were performed and optimized instead of traditional runner system designs. Three different models were evaluated. The result of this study showed that the newly developed designs might be more useful than the traditional design. The resulting different filling profiles were directly associated with the gating system. The Reynolds number was used to indicate whether the liquid metal flow was turbulent or not, making it easier to make a sensible choice between designs. The designs were compared in terms of possible casting defects. The results revealed that the new designs had a more homogeneous filling profile and a lower risk of casting defects. It was found that design 2 was the most suitable option among the proposed models.