Modelling of Critical Solid Fraction Factor Depending on Mold Temperature and Grain Size of Al-4,3cu Alloy Poured Into Permenant Mold

In order to achieve more realistic results from casting simulations, physical and thermo-physical factors should be numerically defined in simulation programs. some of these factors are the pouring temperature, volumetric shrinkage ratio, mould filling time, type of mould material and the critical fraction of solid (cfs) ratio up to which the feeding liquid can flow.limited work has been carried on cfs, which is an important factor oncasting simulation, andit has also not been fully defined.in this study, the cfs values of al-4.3% cu permanent mould (pm) casting depending on the mould pre-heating temperatures and the grain size have been investigated. non-grain refined and grain refined al-%4.3 cu alloys were poured into the permanent mould having pre-heated to three different temperatures (100°c, 155°c, 210°c)which is specially designed to produce shrinkage defects due to inadequate feeding, after cooling and solidification, volume of the shrinkage voids within each casting was calculated using archimedes principle. cas tings obtained in real conditions have been modelled using 3d solidcast casting simulation software. during modelling, different cfs values have been used as a boundary condition in simulation, and the volumes of the shrinkage voids were compared as a function of real castings and simulation. results showed that the mould pre-heating temperature and grain size of the castings have significant influence on the cfs value.