VOLUME SEGMENTATION BY POST-PROCESSING DATA FROM SIMULATION OF SOLIDIFICATION IN THE METAL CASTING PROCESS

In the process of interpreting simulation results, new post-processing techniques are developed. This work presents a post-processing method that analyzes the solidification pattern formed by simulation of the solidification process of molten metal in a mold to produce shaped castings. Simulations generally involve numerical solutions of differential equations which are discretized by dividing the three-dimensional computational domain into small finite volume elements using a 3D grid. The locations of the grid points and values of the solidification time at these locations are used to divide the spatial data into 3D sections such that starting from a hotspot location within the section that has high solidification time, there is a gradient outwards with lower values of solidification time. Each section is assumed to be fed by one or more feeders that must freeze only after the section has solidified completely. The volume of a feeder can be determined from the volume of the section it is supposed to feed. The volume and surface area of sections are determined approximately to calculate feeder size and dimensions. The post-processing algorithm is a simulation-based quantitative approach to feeder design which in conventional foundry practice has been more of an art than science. It is also general enough for use in other 3D segmentation applications.