PROCAST USER MANUAL
VERSION 2006.0
Version 2006.0 Page 2
PROCAST USER MANUAL 1
INTRODUCTION 7
SOFTWARE CAPABILITIES 7
SOFTWARE ORGANIZATION 9
USER MANUAL PRESENTATION 11
WHAT'S NEW 12
VERSION 2006.0 12
VERSION 2005.0 19
VERSION 2004.1 24
VERSION 2004.0 29
IDENTIFIED BUGS, PROBLEMS AND LIMITATIONS 33
GETTING STARTED 36 SOFTWARE LAUNCH 36 PROBLEM SET-UP 38 CALCULATION 46 RESULTS DISPLAY 48 SOFTWARE MANAGER 51 FILE MANAGER 51 MODULE CALLS 55
ADVANCED MODULE CALLS 63
RUN LIST 66 SOFTWARE CONFIGURATION 69 CUSTOMIZED INSTALLATION 73 FLEXLM 74 PRE-PROCESSING 78 INTRODUCTION 78 GEOMETRY IMPORT 82 THERMAL 84 GEOMETRY ASSIGNMENTS 85 MATERIALS ASSIGNMENT 85 INTERFACES ASSIGNMENT 90
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS ASSIGNMENT 95
PROCESS CONDITIONS ASSIGNMENT 100
INITIAL CONDITIONS ASSIGNMENT 102
FLUID FLOW & FILLING 106 RADIATION 110 STRESS 122 DATABASES 131 MATERIAL DATABASE 131 MATERIAL PROPERTIES 135 THERMODYNAMIC DATABASES 141
Calculation of Stress Properties 150
Databases limitations 153
Influence of alloying elements 156
INTERFACE DATABASE 164
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS DATABASE 167
PROCESS DATABASE 182
STRESS DATABASE 187
STRESS MODELS AND PROPERTIES 191
Digitized Hardening 205
Plastic and Viscoplastic properties determination 206
RUN PARAMETERS 220 GENERAL RUN PARAMETERS 221 THERMAL RUN PARAMETERS 227 CYCLING RUN PARAMETERS 233 RADIATION RUN PARAMETERS 234 FLOW RUN PARAMETERS 238 TURBULENCE RUN PARAMETERS 246 STRESS RUN PARAMETERS 248 MICRO RUN PARAMETERS 252 PRE-DEFINED RUN PARAMETERS 255 RUN PARAMETERS RECOMMENDATIONS 257 POROSITY MODELS 261 POROS=1 262 POROS=4 266 POROS=8 266 DENSITY DEFINITION 267 ACTIVE FEEDING 268
SGIPOROSITY MODEL 269
VIRTUAL MOLD 276 FILTERS 282 EXOTHERMIC 285 CYCLING 287 LOST FOAM 290 THIXO CASTING 295 CENTRIFUGAL CASTING 298 MULTIPLE MESHES AND NON-COINCIDENT MESHES 299 GEOMETRY MANIPULATION 303
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Mass Source Vector Function 319
Translation Vector Function 320
Imposed Velocity Vector Function 321
Solid Transport Velocity Vector Function 322
External Function 322
RUN OF THE CALCULATION 324
SOLVER 324 TROUBLESHOOTING 327 RESULTS VIEWING 331 INTRODUCTION 331 FIELD SELECTION 337 DISPLAY TYPES 341 DISPLAY PARAMETERS 351 TAPE PLAYER 369 CURVES 370 GEOMETRY MANIPULATION 376 RESULTS ANALYSIS 385 CRITERION FUNCTIONS 385 POROSITY 394
FATIGUE LIFE INDICATOR 395 HOT TEARING INDICATOR 396 CRACKING INDICATOR 397 FRECKLES INDICATOR 398 RESULTS EXPORTS 399 INTRODUCTION 399 GEOMETRY 400 RADIATION FACES 401 TEMPERATURE 402 HEAT FLUX 405 DISPLACEMENTS 406 STRESS 407 PARALLEL SOLVER 408 INTRODUCTION 408
HOW DOES PROCAST PARALLEL WORKS ? 411 USE OF THE PARALLEL SOLVER 416
REPEATABILITY 421
LIMITATIONS 422
PARALLEL VERSION INSTALLATION 425 HARDWARE AND OS 428 LAM/MPI AND MPICH COPYRIGHTS 430
ADVANCED POROSITY CALCULATIONS 433
INTRODUCTION 433
ADVANCED POROSITY PRE-PROCESSING 435
GENERAL INFORMATION 436
MATERIAL PROPERTIES 436
GAS AND BUBBLE PROPERTIES 438
PROCESS INFORMATION 440
CALCULATION SETTINGS 444
EXAMPLES PREFIX_PORO.D INPUT FILE 447
ADVANCED POROSITY SOLVER 452 ADVANCED POROSITY POST-PROCESSING 454 MICROSTRUCTURES 458
INTRODUCTION 458
CASE SET-UP AND RESULTS 462
EXAMPLES 467
IRON AND STEEL 474
INTRODUCTION TO IRON AND STEEL 474
IRON AND STEEL MODELS 480
CASE STUDIES 484 "2-D" 505 INTRODUCTION 505 MESHING 507 CASE SETTING 514 CAFE-3D 517 INVERSE MODELING 524 INTRODUCTION 524 MODEL SET-UP 527
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TIPS & TRAPS 557
RESTART 557
CONVERGENCE PROBLEMS 558 STRESS CALCULATIONS 559 GAPS IN STRESS MODELS 560 STRESS VISUALIZATION 562 TUTORIALS 565 GENERAL INTRODUCTION 565 FLOW CHART 565 MESHCAST 567 PRECAST 568 PROCAST 569 VIEWCAST 569 RESTART 571 BOUNDARY CONDITIONS 575 SYMMETRY 581 TIME STEPS 583 MATERIAL PROPERTIES 585 CASTING MATERIAL 586 EXOTHERMIC MATERIAL 589 FILTER MATERIAL 591 MOLD MATERIAL 591 THERMODYNAMIC DATABASES 592 CYCLING MODELLING 598 VIRTUAL MOLD 604 PROCESS TEMPLATES 609 HPDC-CYCLING 610 HPDC-FLOW 636 LPDC 647 GRAVITY-SAND 666 INVESTMENT 687 FILTER 710 STRESS 734 NON-COINCIDENT MODEL 751
INTRODUCTION
S
OFTWARE CAPABILITIES
ProCAST is a software using the Finite Elements Method (FEM). It allows the modeling of Thermal heat transfer (Heat flow), including Radiation with view factors, Fluid flow, including mold filling, Stresses fully coupled with the thermal solution (Thermomechanics). Beside that, it includes also microstructure modeling and porosity modeling.
Special models are included in order to account for thixo casting and lost foam. Specific features are included to account for processes such as high pressure die casting, centrifugal, tilt. Finally, customized models for foundry processes, such filters, sleeves are included.
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Mold filling and Fluid flow calculation
S
OFTWARE ORGANIZATION
The software is organized around a Manager, which calls the different modules : • MeshCAST : the mesh generator
• PreCAST : the pre-processor, coupled with databases • DataCAST / ProCAST : the solvers
• ViewCAST : the post-processor and data export unit The following figure is presenting the structure of the software. First, the
geometry, in the form of a CAD model is loaded into MeshCAST, to generate a FEM mesh. Then, the calculation is configured in PreCAST, the Pre-processor. PreCAST is linked to Thermodynamic Databases for the automatic
determination of the material properties from thermodynamic databases. Before the solver ProCAST is launched, a "data conditioner" named DataCAST is run. Finally, the results can be viewed or exported (for further processing) in the Post-processor ViewCAST.
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Thermal module
• Heat conduction (Fourier equation) • Latent heat release during solidification • Cycling in die casting
• Sleeves (insulating and exothermic) • Non-coincident meshes
• Solidification time
• Secondary Dendrite Arm spacing • Porosity indicator
Radiation module
• Net radiation method
• Full view factors capabilities • Mirror and rotational symmetries • Relative motion of materials • Solid or surface enclosures
Fluid flow module
• Navier-Stokes equation
• Penalization of the flow in the mushy zone and in the solid • Mold filling algorithm, with free surface
• Filter model
• Newtonian and Non-Newtonian flow • Thixo casting models
• Lost Foam model • Tilt pouring
• Centrifugal casting • Turbulent models
Stress module
• Elastic, Elastic-plastic, Elasto-visco-plastic • Rigid or vacant materials
• Automatic calculation of the air gap heat transfer • Contact algorithm between the different materials • Contact pressure
• Die Fatigue prediction • Hot Tearing indicator
The features linked to specific processes (e.g. cycling, tilt, ...) are embedded in the corresponding physical modules.
U
SER
M
ANUAL
P
RESENTATION
After a "Getting started" chapter, which presents briefly the set-up of a simple thermal case, the different modules of the software, starting by the "Software Manager" are presented.
The "Pre-processing" chapter is probably the most important as it describes the setting up of a case, from the FEM mesh to the run of the calculation. After an introduction on common features, this chapter is divided according to the "Physical modules", i.e. Thermal, Fluid Flow & Filling, Radiation and Stress. Then, the Databases, Run Parameters and Advanced features are presented. After the Run of the calculation chapter, three chapters are dedicated to the Results viewing, the Results analysis and the Results exports.
Finally, Tips & Traps and Tutorials will illustrate the use of the software. MeshCAST, the mesh generator, is presented in a separate manual.
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WHAT'S NEW
V
ERSION
2006.0
This section is describing the main news of ProCAST v2006.0.
The links are referring to the corresponding section of the manual for more details.
General / Manager
• In the "Copy" panel, the possibility to access directly to the "Template"
directory of the installation was added (see "Software Manager/File Manager" section for more details).
• The access to the CAFE pre-processor and post-processor were introduced in the Manager, as well as to the Advanced Porosity post-processor (see the "Software Manager/Module calls" and "Software Manager/Advanced module calls" sections for more details).
• A bug in the "Copy" functionnality was corrected.
• The possibility to launch DMP calculations on Linux in Batch was introduced (see the "Parallel Solver/Use of the Parallel solver" section for more details). • The FlexLM libraries were upgraded from 9.2 CRO to 10.1.3 STL.
• A bug in the status window (wrong update of the number of cycles) was corrected.
MeshCAST
• A link between GEOMESH and MeshCAST was created in order to speed-up the repair and surface meshing process (especially to account for the more efficient readers of GEOMESH) (see the MeshCAST manual for more details).
• Surface mesh Assembly (see the MeshCAST manual for more details). • Boolean Assembly (see the MeshCAST manual for more details).
• The Surface mesh algorithm was improved in order to have a better quality surface mesh. Especially, cylinders defined by only one surface can now be meshed automatically. Thin cylinders (e.g. cooling chanels) are not collapsed anymore when the mesh size is coarse.
• The Autofix is now fully automatic (no more need to specify a length) • A functionnality to remove automatically filets was introduced (see the
MeshCAST manual for more details).
• The Layered shell mesher was re-introduced in MeshCAST (see the MeshCAST manual for more details).
• The format of the volume mesh has been adapted to allow the handling of files with more than 10 millions elements.
• When a Volume mesh is loaded, new buttons "Select All" and "Deselect All" were introduced in order to select/deselect automatically all the domains.
• The "Partial layer" option was corrected (it was giving the same results are the Full layer option).
• The "*.bstl" files can now be read on Linux.
PreCAST
• Time-dependant Inlet boundary conditions were introduced (see the "Boundary Conditions Database" section for more details).
• In the case of shot piston, it is possible now to define the position of the piston in three different ways : position vs time, velocity vs time, velocity vs position (see the "Process Database" section for more details).
• Wall BC and Velocity BC are now exclusive (i.e. if a Wall BC with a "Select All" is set, the previously defined Velocity BC's will be preserved).
• Now, it is not anymore possible to set BC's on Periodic BC faces (the Periodic BC faces are "protected", like Symmetry faces).
• A new "Pick" function has been introduced, to pick the coordinates and the node number of a given point selected interactively on the model (see the "Geometry Manipulation" section for more details).
• Stress properties (Youngs modulus, Poisson Ratio, Expansion coefficient) are now automatically calculated, based upon the Thermodynamic databases (see "Calculation of Stress Properties" section for more details).
• When defining the interfaces, the "Wireframe" mode has been reactivated (in order to see a domain which is inside an other one).
• The Plastic stress properties (i.e. the Hardening) can now also be defined as a set of tabulated tensile tests curves in an ASCII file (see "Digitized Hardening" section for more details).
• In the case of Microstructure modelling, the default values of the Run parameters were removed (see the "Micro Run Parameters" section for more details).
• The mesh can be now optimized also in the case of Periodic BC.
• If a non-coincident mesh is used, a warning prevents the definition of a virtual mould.
• New User functions have been introduced (see "User Functions" section for more details).
• A problem in the initialization of CORE materials during cycling has been corrected.
• A problem of Extract of temperatures with the prefix_t.unf file larger then 2 GB has been corrected.
• Enclosures can now again be defined by QUAD elements
Version 2006.0 Page 14 • The Run Parameters Recommendations have been updated in order to account
for the changes in the algorithm (see the "Run Parameters Recommendations" section for more details).
Thermodynamic databases
• Stress properties (Youngs modulus, Poisson Ratio, Expansion coefficient) are now automatically calculated, based upon the Thermodynamic databases (see "Calculation of Stress Properties" section for more details).
• The latest available Computherm databases are included in this version. The material properties calculated with these databases will be more accurate than the previous ones.
• The Computherm manual (from Computherm LCC) is added in the Software installation (in the dat/manuals/PDF direcrtory). This manual describes for each alloying system the phases which are calculated, the limitations as well as the validations which have been made.
ViewCAST
• A new "Pick" function has been introduced, to pick the coordinates, node number and values (e.g. Temperature, Pressure, ...) of a given point selected interactively on the model (see the "Geometry Manipulation" section for more details).
• The liquidus and solidus temperature are now shown on the Temperature scale (see the "Results Viewing/Display Parameters" section for more details). • The previously defined scales (i.e. the scales defined manually during a
previous session) are now automatically stored and loaded (see the "Results Viewing/Display Parameters" section for more details).
• Stored views were introduced (see the "Results Viewing/Geometry Manipulation" section for more details).
• When a model is loaded for the first time (or when no view was stored), the model is displayed in isometric view, with the gravity pointing downwards. • In case of a Stress calculation, it is now possible to calculate all the Stress
results (e.g. Effective Stress, Principal Stress, SigmaX, ...) all at once before viewing them (see the "Results Viewing/Field selection" section for more details).
• In the case of stress calculation, the possibility to view the total displacement was introduced (see the "Results Viewing/Field selection" section for more details).
• The displacements relative to a plane were introduced for the visualization of deformed geometries (stress calculation) (see the "Results Viewing/Field selection" section for more details).
• When a stress calculation is performed, it is possible to display the
underformed geometry in wireframe together with the deformed contours (see the "Results Viewing/Display Parameters" section for more details).
• The calculation of the solidification time was improved in order to account for remelting (if any).
• The calculation of the Filling time was changed in order to ignore the piping area.
• The pressures calculated by the "Advanced Porosity module" can now be visualized in ViewCAST (see the "Advanced Porosity Post-processing" section for more details).
• In order to better visualize pockets of air, a new display mode of the free surface ("Foreground") was added (see the "Results Viewing/Display Parameters" section for more details).
• Stress results can be viewed also when the directory is in Read-only mode (on Windows only). This is especially useful to view stress cases stored on a CD or a DVD. The stress results are computed and stored in a temporary file on the local disk of the computer (see the "Results Viewing/Field selection" section for more details).
• If more than one symmetry is defined in the model, it can be automatically retrieved (it was previously working only with one symmetry).
• In the case of a Tilt casting, it was mandatory to have the p.dat file present in the directory to view the case. This obligation was removed.
• In the XYPlot window, when nodes were selected interactively, the selection window (with the cursors) was disappearing each time the model had to be rotated or moved. This limitation is now removed.
Solver
• The filling algorithm was improved. A new Run Parameter FREESFOPT was introduced (see the "Flow Run Parameters" section for more details).
• The filling solver was improved in order to better handle Tilt pouring models. A new Run parameter "TILT=1" was introduced in the case of Tilt models (see the "Flow Run Parameters" section for more details).
• For centrifugal casting, the algorithm was improved by the introduction of the RELVEL Run Parameter (see the "Centrifugal casting" and the "Flow Run Parameters" sections for more details).
• The convergence, the accuracy and the CPU time of the Stress module was significantly improved.
• Two new models (Norton law and Strain Hardening Creep) were introduced in the Stress module to account for viscoplasticity and creep (see "Stress models and Properties" section for more details).
• The Plastic stress properties (i.e. the Hardening) can now also be defined as a set of tabulated tensile tests curves in an ASCII file (see "Digitized Hardening" section for more details).
• In the case of Stress calculations with Vacant or Rigid materials, the memory management was changed in order to reduce the amount of memory needed (in the scalar version only).
Version 2006.0 Page 16 • A bug in the POROS=1 model was corrected (in the identification of the
independant liquid pockets).
• A problem in the POROS=1 model with FREESF=2 filling was corrected. • Microstructure models were improved (see "Microstructures" section for more
details).
• The memory requirement was significantly reduced when running a case with many materials.
• Time-dependant Inlet boundary conditions were introduced (see the "Boundary Conditions Database" section for more details).
• New User functions have been introduced (see "User Functions" section for more details).
• A problem of Restart in the case of gravity casting was corrected.
• The problem of heat transfer between a shot piston and the casting (there was no heat transfer) has been solved.
• The logic of the flow Switch Off was changed in order to avoid some
unexpected situations. If LVSURF < 1, the value of PIPEFS can not be set to 1.
• A problem in the FLOW=9 option was corrected.
• It is possible now to run Stress models with materials which have no phase change.
• A bug in the case of Stress calculation in the presence of filters has been corrected.
• It is possible now to run a Microstructure calculations together with the Turbulent model.
• A problem in Cycling with FREESF=1 was corrected.
• In the case of moving solids, the translation is also called at step 0. • A problem in the case of DIE COMBO was corrected.
• A problem in the calculation of the piping when using Periodic Boundary conditions was fixed.
• A problem in the calculation of the "Freckles predictor" has been corrected, as well as a problem of Restart with Freckles prediction.
• If the "statpro" directory (where the status file is written) is momentarily not available, the calculation will not crash anymore.
• In the case of delayed filling (i.e. if the filling does not start since the beginning of the analysis), the DTMAXFILL timestep will not be active before the filling starts.
• A bug in the treatment of the TOPEN has been corrected.
• A problem in the Units of the user function "externalcompute.c" was corrected.
• A problem of "datacast -u" in the case of stress was fixed (the stresses of vacant domains were lost).
• A problem of convergence with non-coincident meshes was fixed. • A problem of memory allocation was corrected in the case of Radiation
problems.
• The Run Parameters Recommendations have been updated in order to account for the changes in the algorithm (see the "Run Parameters Recommendations" section for more details).
Parallel processing (DMP)
• The Stress module has been parallelized. Please note that no specific set-up should be done for parallel processing of Stress calculations. The set-up exactly the same as the scalar version.
• The "DataCAST" module is now the same between Scalar and DMP (e.g. one can run DataCAST on a scalar machine and then launch the calculation on N CPU's with the DMP version or vice-versa).
• ProCAST 2006.0 contains the first release of the Windows DMP version (see the "Parallel solver" chapter for more details).
• The Lost Foam and the Non-Newtonian module has been parallelized (same set-up as the scalar version).
• The TRI2QUAD=1 functionnality (for radiation) has been parallelized. • Some problems encountered in the DMP versions were fixed.
CAFE
• The CAFE pre-processor and post-processor were introduced in the Manager (it is no longer needed to have the calcosoft-3D installation to set-up and visualize CAFE calculations) (see the "CAFE-3D" chapter for more details). • The CAFE solver (in post-processing mode) was introduced in the ProCAST
2006.0 distribution (it is no longer needed to have the calcosoft-3D installation to run CAFE calculations) (see the "CAFE-3D" chapter for more details).
Advanced Porosity module
• The quality of the solver was significantly improved in order to have a better convergence (robustness) and a better accuracy of the results.
• The defalult value for the "convergence.tolerance" was modified (from 1e-12 to 1e-10) in order to be compatible with the modified algorithm.
• A bug in the storage frequency was corrected.
• The pressures calculated by the "Advanced Porosity module" can now be visualized in ViewCAST (see the "Advanced Porosity Post-processing" section for more details).
• It is possible to view Advanced Porosity results (with the calcososft post-processor) across plateforms (automatic swap option).
• The calcosoft post-processor allows now to view results calculated using Hex or Wedges mesh.
• A bug in the viewing of Advanced Porosity results in the presence of enclosures has been corrected.
Version 2006.0 Page 18 the manual. Othewise, one could have convergence problems (see the "Stress Models and Properties" section for more details - end of the section).
• The Computherm manual (from Computherm LCC) is added in the Software installation (in the dat/manuals/PDF direcrtory). This manual describes for each alloying system the phases which are calculated, the limitations as well as the validations which have been made.
• The Run Parameters Recommendations have been updated in order to account for the changes in the algorithm (see the "Run Parameters Recommendations" section for more details).
• A new section was added in the "Microstructure Module" chapter (see the "Iron and Steel" section for more details).
V
ERSION
2005.0
This section is describing the main news of ProCAST v2005.0.
The links are referring to the corresponding section of the manual for more details.
General / Manager
• The manager was modified in order to allow the launch of Parallel
calculations, of the Advanced Porosity module and of the Inverse module (see the "Software Manager/Advanced module calls" section for more details). • A "Run list" functionality was added in order to launch automatically a serie
of calculation (batch processing) (see the "Software Manager/Run list" section for more details).
• A Graphical status was introduced in the Manager (see the "Software Manager/Module calls" section for more details).
• The F2 key can be used to scroll between the different case names which are present in the same directory (see the "Software Manager/File manager" section for more details).
• The case name was added in the top bar of all the modules (MeshCAST, PreCAST, ViewCAST).
• The suffix ".mesh" has been added to the Filter of the "File Manger". • The FlexLM locking system was upgraded to FlexLM 9.2 CRO, for a better
security. This version will work with 2005 CRO license keys.
• LMtools can be accessed directly from the Manager (see the "Software Manager/Software configuration" section for more details).
MeshCAST
• The call of the Volume mesher of MeshCAST in batch was re-introduced (see the end of the "Software Manager/Module calls" section for more details). • The possibility to read Parasolid files with the .x_t suffix was added.
• The automatic "zoom-out" was suppressed when the ADDLINE operation was performed.
• A units problem in MeshCAST-2D was corrected.
PreCAST
Version 2006.0 Page 20 • The possibility to activate User functions was introduced in PreCAST (see the
"User Functions" section for more details).
• A bug in the units of the "Tilt" axis was corrected.
• A bug in the storage of the "K-factor" (non-Newtonian model) was corrected. • The "Extract" was extended in order to allow it in the presence of filters. • The "automatic" setting of FLOW=3 was reviewed.
• A "Erase line" was added in the "Chemical Composition" definition of the material properties.
• The TENDFILL Run parameters was introduced in order to automatically stop a calculation at the end of the filling (see the "General Run Parameters"
section for more details).
• New alloys were introduced in the Material database. Some properties of existing alloys were improved.
• The Stress material properties database was complemented.
• A bug in the treatment of non-coincident interfaces was corrected (it was creating a double heat transfer on some nodes in some specific cases). • The COARSEC and COARSEP Run parameters were removed from the
interface as they are no longer used.
• When PreCAST is opened, the model is oriented according to the ISO orientation.
Thermodynamic databases
• The automatic calculation of the "Thermal conductivity" from the thermodynamic databases was introduced for all databases (see the "Thermodynamic Databases" section for more details)
• The content of the Computherm databases was improved. This will lead to more accurate properties predictions. Moreover, the computation of some alloys (which was not possible with previous versions) was improved. This means that the properties calculated with this version will be different (but more accurate) than the previous ones (e.g. the solidus temperature of Ni-based alloys is now much more realistic than before).
• A problem in the Mg database was fixed, giving now the right results. • The liquid density of Pure Aluminium was changed in order to give more
accurate density predictions of Al-alloys (e.g. in the previous version, the solidification shrinkage of an A356 alloy was about 9.15%, whereas it is now 5.45%). This will affect the density calculations for all Al alloys.
ViewCAST
• ViewCAST was adapted in order to allow the viewing of result files coming from a different platform (e.g. viewing on Windows results computed on UNIX) (see the "Software Manager/Software configuration" section for more details).
• Automatic creation of AVI animations was introduced (see the "Resultsviewing/Introduction" section for more details).
• Export of the "Shrinkage porosity" and of the "Advanced porosity" fields has been introduced.
• An automatic pre-defined setting for "Shrinkage porosity" was introduced (see the end of the "Results viewing/Display types" section for more details). • Short cuts for the different display modes were introduced (see the "Results
viewing/Display types" section for more details).
• The export of "Reversed displacements" was corrected, as well as the X-Y plots of displacements.
• The maximum number of timesteps which could be exported was increased from 200 to 5000.
• In Tilt casting, the particles are now "tilting" with the part. In addition, a new "Tilt" option in the "Parameters" menu was introduced in order to deactivate the tilt during the viewing (see the "Display Parameters" section for more details).
• The "Fill time" plot was introduced.
• A problem with the calculation of RGL on Linux was fixed.
Solver
• User functions were introduced for "interface heat transfer coefficients" and "Heat boundary conditions" (see the "User Functions" chapter for more details).
• A bug with the TCLOSE (DIE COMBO cycling) was corrected.
• A problem in the cementite formation of cast iron (microstructure module) was fixed.
• The interpolation of the linear thermal expansion coefficient (stress module) was changed from linear by intervals to piecewise linear.
• A problem with the calculation of stress in the presence of piping (stress module) was corrected. In such case, one should set PIPEFS = 0 (see the "Thermal Run Parameters" section, under PIPEFS for more details).
• A new possibility was included in order to handle the "Gate feeding" in hpdc in the presence of a shot piston (see the "Active Feeding" and "Thermal Run Parameters" sections for more details about the GATENODE Run Parameter). • A bug in the POROS 1 model was corrected (to avoid unexpected behaviors in
some specific cases). Moreover, the display of the macroshrinkage (i.e. holes inside the casting) has been changed (one will have shrinkage porosity values of 1, but no internal "Voids" will be shown. "Voids" will be used only for pipe shrinkage at the surface of the model). Please note that the value of FVOL has no meaning for the viewing of porosity results.
Version 2006.0 Page 22 • A problem with the Freckles indicator was fixed.
• A new stop criterion (TENDFILL) was introduced. It allows to stop the calculation N seconds after the end of filling (see the "General Run Parameters" section for more details).
• The CAFE-3D coupled solver was introduced in the standard ProCAST solver executable (see the "CAFE-3D" section for more details).
• Undesired "Sticking" in the pouring cup during Tilt pouring was improved. For that purpose a new TILT Run Parameter was introduced (see the "Flow Run Parameters" section for more details).
• A "loading increment" Run Parameter LOADSCL was introduced for more accuracy in structure analysis type of problems (see the "Stress Run
Parameters" section for more details). • A problem with RDEBUG=2 was fixed.
Parallel processing
• The Parallel processing solver was introduced in this version for selected platforms (see the "Parallel Solver" chapter for more details).
Advanced Porosity module
• The Advanced Porosity module (originally developed in CALCOSOFT-3D) was introduced in the ProCAST distribution (see the "Advanced Porosity Calculations" chapter for more details).
• The module was improved (with respect to one of the CALCOSOFT-3D 2004.0 distribution).
• Extension of the Advanced Porosity module in order to allow the calculation of the porosity in more than one casting domain.
• Direct reading of the ProCAST files was introduced (no more result files conversion needed).
• Storage of the porosity results at FEM nodes, allowing the visualization of the results in ViewCAST.
• Removal of the enthalpy conversion, allowing for a direct compatibility of the data between the ProCAST and the Advanced Porosity module.
• Possibility to define directly a density curve (instead of expansion coefficients of the different phases) and thus to use the same density curve as in the
ProCAST calculation (the density curve of ProCAST is automatically used and thus, the definition of this curve is not anymore necessary in the porosity module).
• Direct reading of the fraction of solid and density curves in the ProCAST data files (the definition of these curves is not anymore necessary for the porosity module).
Manual
(The following sections of the manual were added or changed)
• A new section was added to list the limits in the chemical compositions for the Thermodynamic databases (see the "Databases limitations" section for more details).
• A section on the "Influence of alloying elements" on thermophysical properties obtained with thermodynamic databases was added.
• A new "Software Manager/Advanced module calls" section was added. • A new "Software Manager/Run list" section was added.
• The "Software Manager/Software configuration" section was complemented. • A new "Parallel Solver" chapter was added.
• A new "Advanced Porosity Calculations" chapter was added.
• A new "User Functions" section was added in the "Pre-processing" chapter. • A new "CAFE-3D" chapter was added.
• The "Virtual mold" section was modified in order to account for the automatic definition of the box size.
• The description of the new Run Parameter TENDFILL was added in the "General Run Parameters" section.
• The description of the new Run Parameter GATENODE was added in the "Active Feeding" and "Thermal Run Parameters" sections.
• Updates in the "Results viewing/Display types" section were made.
• Details about non-coincident tolerances were added at the end of the "Multiple Meshes and non-coincident meshes" section.
• The description of how to disable both the porosity and the piping calculation (by setting POROS = 0 and PIPEFS = 0) is now included in the "Thermal Run Parameters" section (under PIPEFS).
• The set-up of a cycling calculation including a Porosity calculation is now described at the end of the "Cycling" section.
• The transition between plastic and viscoplastic models was revised in the "Stress Models and Properties" section.
• Advices about the setting of Yield stress values in the liquid have been added at the end of the "Stress Models and Properties" section.
• The principles of plastic and viscoplastic properties determination from experimental measurements are now described.
Version 2006.0 Page 24
V
ERSION
2004.1
This section is describing the main news of ProCAST v2004.1.
The links are referring to the corresponding section of the manual for more details.
General
• On some platforms, the graphics performances were very poor (in terms of display speed). This was corrected. However, it may still happen that on some graphics cards, the graphical performances are not optimum (in terms of display refresh). In such cases, the configuration of the X-Server may need to be adjusted.
• The installation structure of the software was complemented in order to allow the installation in a Read only location. Each user has now the possibility to set a customized directory for his Preferences (including the MeshCAST user customized icons) and databases. (Customized installation).
MeshCAST
• On some platforms (mainly Windows), MeshCAST was not always able to use all the available memory (e.g. it was crashing at 1.1 GB, whereas the computer had 2 GB of RAM). This problem was due to the way "reallocation" of
memory was done in the code and how the operating system was managing the memory allocation. The memory "reallocation" technique was modified in order to prevent such problems, allowing to use all (or most) of the available memory. In such situation, temporary files will be created in the working directory (see the MeshCAST manual for more details about this option and the "Module calls" section for the activation of this option).
• In the case of problems with Shell meshing with symmetry, a new
functionality was added in order to allow the curing of the problem (see the MeshCAST manual for more details about this option).
• The User defined icons can now be stored in a central location (or in a customized user defined location) (Customized installation).
• Some corrections when reading Parasolid files were made. • ANSYS surface mesh input is now available.
PreCAST
• The viscosity and density can be automatically calculated from the thermodynamic databases, based upon the chemical composition (Thermodynamic Databases).
• The thermal conductivity for Aluminium alloys can be determined
automatically from the thermodynamic databases, based upon the chemical composition (Thermodynamic Databases).
• A new Run Parameter was introduced (DTMAXFILL) in order to define the maximum timestep to be applied during the filling stage. This run parameter is optional (General Run Parameters).
• A "Die close" was introduced in the Die Combo definition. This allows to account for a closed period of the die before the next filling starts (Interface Database, Cycling Run Parameters)
• A special effort in the "Standard" Run Parameters definition was made (in PreCAST and in the Solver). Thus, it is now possible to set "Standard" sets of Run parameters for each process (see the "Run parameters Recommendations" section for more details).
• The automatic Mesh Optimization was introduced in PreCAST. This means that it will not be necessary anymore to optimize meshes in MeshCAST and that the optimization will automatically take into account the interface set-up (Warning : the Optimization should not be used on a model which contains Extracted initial conditions coming from a non-optimized model).
• A more sophisticated model (but simple to use) to define filters (with pressure drop information) was introduced, aside from the current filter model (see the definition of Filters in the "Material Properties" section).
• The inverse set-up was re-introduced in PreCAST. This was the opportunity to simplify it to make it more user friendly.
• The Microstructure Run Parameters were introduced in PreCAST.
• The size of the model (and not only the min-max) is now displayed when the case is loaded.
• A correction in the "Extract menu" was done.
• A correction of the Virtual mold scale display was done.
• A bug in the definition of time-dependent displacements was corrected. • The "Select Remain" was selecting both outside faces and faces at interfaces.
This was corrected. Only the outside surfaces are selected.
• The direct access in databases with a Right Mouse click was extended to all databases.
• Units in the "Thermal Expansion coefficient" (Stress database) were corrected.
ViewCAST
• A new "Particle tracing" has been introduced. The streamlines are automatically computed during the calculation and thus the display in
ViewCAST is fast (see "Display parameters" for the viewing and "Flow Run Parameters" for the set-up).
• When a case is viewed during the calculation, the timesteps can be automatically updated during the ViewCAST session (see the Display
Version 2006.0 Page 26 • The units of the SDAS display were wrong. It was corrected.
• The node numbers and elements numbers can now be displayed (see the "Geometry manipulation" section).
• During the filling calculation, a "smoothing" algorithm of the free surface was suppressed (as it was causing some problems in some filling situations). Thus, in the case of coarse mesh or strong zoom, one could see a more "rough" free surface than in previous versions (this does not affect the quality of the filling pattern).
• A bug in the stress solver, in the presence of non-coincident meshes was corrected.
Solver
• Although many improvements were made in version 2004.0 in the filling algorithm, in order to reduce numerical diffusion (to have "less viscous" liquid), this did create some detrimental behaviors in some situations. Thus, the filling algorithm was further refined and tests have shown much better results in all the geometries and processes which were calculated. A special effort was put in the Run Parameters settings for filling simulation. Now, the default values can be used for all processes (only WALLF should be
customized in order to account for the "friction" of the liquid at the mold wall) (Flow Run Parameters, Run Parameters Recommendations).
• In LPDC, the stability of the filling with a pressure boundary condition was totally reviewed and now good results are obtained also with pressure filling (Flow Run Parameters, Run Parameters Recommendations)
• The POROS=1 model was improved and a few bugs were corrected. The description of the POROS=1 model was also improved (see in particular the description of the effect of FEEDLEN)
• The visco-plastic model was slightly changed in order to allow a more
straightforward definition of the input parameters from measured data and the possibility to set a Norton law (with threshold) for creep (Stress models and properties). One should be careful that viscoplastic models which have been set in previous version should be modified in PreCAST in order to add the normalization stress. Otherwise, the solver will not work.
• Porosity calculations can now be done together with cycling.
• In the Lost Foam model, there was situations where small bits of foam were not burning. This situation was corrected.
• The stress solver was extended in order to account for moving solids. • A bug in the Restart of Stress calculation was corrected, leading to a much
improved convergence of the restarted step.
• A bug in the GATEFEED=1 option was corrected in the case of time-dependant pressure or inlet velocity (GATEFEED was not activated in this cases)
• A check was introduced at the beginning of the calculation in order to prevent a missing pressure BC when GATEFEED is set to 1 (to prevent piping in pressure die casting, in thermal only calculations).
• A bug was corrected in the "inlet BC" algorithm when nodes at the interface between the casting and the mold were selected. One should be careful in such
cases that the filling time may not be exactly correct (if interface nodes are selected).
• A bug in the micro module for hyper-eutectic cast iron was corrected.
• When the microstructure module is used, the material properties definition has slightly changed (as some data can be automatically obtained from the
thermodynamic databases) - see the "Microstructures/Case set-up and Results" section for more details.
• A print-out bug was corrected in the d.out file.
• On some platforms, it was still not possible to generate files larger than 2 GB. This is now corrected. One should be careful however that the file system (kernel) should be well configured in order to accept such large files. However, as it was not possible to generate a 64 bits version of the User interfaces (and especially ViewCAST) on IBM (due to Tcl/Tk problems), it is not possible to visualize such large models on IBM at this stage. Work around : visualize these results on a different platform.
• A bug in the calculation of the permeability of a mushy zone at low fraction of solid was corrected. This has an effect on cold shots or early solidification during filling (in case of very large interface heat transfer coefficients). • DataCAST execution time was reduced for large models.
Manual
(The following sections of the manual were added or changed)
• New Microstructures module chapter • New Inverse module chapter
• New Thixo casting chapter • New Lost Foam chapter
• New section on Thermodynamic databases for automatic computation of density, viscosity and thermal conductivity
• New section on Mesh Optimization in PreCAST
• New section on Particle tracing (see "Display parameters" for the viewing and "Flow Run Parameters" for the set-up)
• New section on "customized installation" with a Read/Write zone • New section on the Input-Output files
• New section and changes in the Filter definition (see the "Material Properties" section for more details)
• New "Run parameters Recommendations" section
• New Run parameter DTMAXFILL (General Run Parameters)
Version 2006.0 Page 28 • Correction of the definition of the modified interface heat transfer coefficient
during stress calculations, when air gaps are formed or when there is a contact pressure (Gaps in stress models)
• Changes in the definition of the visco-plastic and creep model (Stress models and properties)
• Correction in the description of the FEEDLEN effect in the POROS=1 porosity model.
V
ERSION
2004.0
This section is describing the main news of ProCAST v2004.0.
The links are referring to the corresponding section of the manual for more details.
General
• All the user interfaces have been re-developed, using the Tcl/Tk and OpenGL technology. Thus, NutCracker is not anymore necessary to run the software on Windows machines
• The software is licensed using the FlexLM tool (FlexLM). This gives the possibility to have floating licenses
• Direct access to the on-line help
Manager
• A new Software Manager was introduced (to replace "PCS") • Directories can be created and managed (File Manager)
• Cases can be automatically copied, with prefix changes (File Manager) • The different modules can be called interactively (Module calls)
• The calculation can be monitored with a direct status access (Module calls) • The software configuration can be tailored in the Manager (Software
configuration)
MeshCAST
• The volume meshing algorithm is significantly improved in order to generate less elements and nodes with a better quality
• The 2-D mesh generator is replaced by a new 2-D mesh generator based upon the one of calcosoft-2D. It is extended in order to automatically generate 3-D meshes of one slice for both cartesian and axisymmetric modeling
• The maximum number of surfaces which can be allocated to an enclosure was increased to 5000
• The new user interface is available for UNIX/Linux users
PreCAST
Version 2006.0 Page 30 • Enhanced definition of the Virtual mold, with possibility to view the thermal
depth and the mold box (Virtual Mold)
• Display of the size of the model (Geometry Assignment) • New Material database design (Material Database)
• Coherency about material properties definition (enthalpy, Cp, fs and L) (Material Properties)
• Direct visualization of tables (Material Database)
• Direct access to material and boundary condition databases (Materials assignment, Boundary conditions assignment)
• Search and Sort tools for each database (Material Database) • Exothermic material definition (Exothermic)
• More explicit definition of the material domain types (casting, mold, foam, filter, exothermic, ...) (Materials assignment)
• Definition whether a material domain is empty or not in the "Materials assignment" menu
• Possibility to remove interfaces which have been previously created (Interfaces assignment)
• More flexible way to define non-coincident interfaces (Interfaces assignment) • Possibility to change interactively the non-coincident interface tolerance
(Interfaces assignment)
• In all databases, possibility to Import or Export the tables (Material Database) • Enhanced selection of boundary conditions, automatic propagation, selection
of remainder, selection of interfaces (Boundary conditions assignment) • Copy, Paste and Clip capabilities in the Boundary conditions selection
(Boundary conditions assignment)
• A "velocity calculator" was introduced in order to calculate the desired inlet velocity boundary condition (Boundary Conditions Database)
• For radiation problem with an enclosure, the alignment of the surface vectors is simplified (Radiation)
• For all databases, the database management (add, read, copy, delete) can be done in the same window as the assignments (Material Database)
• New design of the Run Parameters layout (Run Parameters)
• Automatic settings of up to nine Run Parameters Templates (Pre-defined Run Parameters)
ViewCAST
• ViewCAST was totally re-developed in a new user interface, based upon the same fundamental principles as the previous version (Results viewing, Results analysis, Results export)
• Better rendering of the models and of the free surface, including shading and transparency
• Interactive tools to manipulate the geometry (rotate, zoom, center, drag) (Geometry manipulation)
• Full capability "Tape player" to step forward and backwards in single steps or animated mode (Tape Player)
• More comprehensive way to select the different view modes of the material domains (solid, invisible, wireframe, hidden mesh, shaded, transparent) (Geometry manipulation)
• Direct access to the different view modes (snapshot, slice, scan, cut-off) (Display types)
• Interactive slicing is available at any time (Display types)
• Enhanced timestep display definition, with the possibility to define time intervals for the display (in addition to step intervals) (Display parameters) • Full export of stress results (in a Neutral format which can be imported in any
stress software) (Results Export/Stress)
• Full export of the displacements (in a case of stress calculation), with the possibility to "reverse" the displacements in order to perform reverse engineering of distorted molds (Results Export/Displacements) • Automatic calculation of the solidification time (Field selection) • Enhanced symmetries settings (same panel as in PreCAST) (Display
parameters)
• Merge of the former PostCAST capabilities into ViewCAST. This allows to have only one post-processor for the snapshots and the time evolutions curves (Results viewing/Curves), as well as for the generation of outputs, such as Niyama, cooling rates, SDAS, ... (Results analysis/Criterion functions) • The XYPlots settings have been totally reviewed (Results viewing/Curves) • The node selection for XYPlots can now be stored, as well as the scale of the
graph for further use (Results viewing/Curves)
• Three different modes for the viewing of the free surface have been introduced (On, Off, Only) (Display parameters)
• The definition of the scale is totally new and interactive. The scale is kept in memory for each field (Display parameters)
• The materials can be "exploded" for a better viewing (Geometry manipulation) • The display of vectors is improved. It is possible to define the length of the
arrows, as well as to have a unique length for all the arrows (Display parameters). The unit vector length is now shown on the screen during snapshots and slices
• An automatic scan of slices (scanning along the X-, Y- or Z-direction) can be done at a given step (Display types)
• The definition of slices (cuts) is improved. It is now possible to view or not the geometry behind (or ahead) of a slice (Display types)
• The "cut-off" capabilities were improved. It is now possible to specify two cut-off values (Display types)
Version 2006.0 Page 32
Solver
• The flow solver for filling was extensively reviewed. In particular the flow along walls was significantly enhanced (WSHEAR=2). The stability of the solver was thus improved for filling (Flow Run Parameters)
• A new Run Parameter (WALLF) was introduced in order to better account for the surface quality of the mold (Flow Run Parameters)
• The EDGE Run parameter was suppressed (due to the WALLF introduction) • The end of the filling can be shortcut with the new Run parameter ENDFILL
(Flow Run Parameters)
• A new "Pool" model was introduced (RESERVOIR type) in order to facilitate the modeling of cases with large horizontal free surfaces, such as tundishes (Materials assignment)
• Improved lost foam model
• The inlet boundary condition was improved in order to preserve the right amount of incoming mass
• The Porosity model (POROS=1) was significantly improved in order to give more accurate predictions (Porosity models)
• The density definition in the case of porosity calculations was extended (Density definition)
• The gate feeding (in the case of injection - hpdc - lpdc) was changed in order to be fully automatic (Active feeding)
• Enhanced enthalpy formulation for more accuracy of the thermal solver • Exothermic materials can be modeled (Exothermic)
• Large files (over 2 GB) can now be handled
• The visco-plastic model for stress was adapted to account for creep (Stress models and properties)
• Fatigue prediction is available (Fatigue life indicator) • Hot tearing calculations are available (Hot tearing indicator) • Cracking indicator is introduced (Cracking indicator)
I
DENTIFIED
B
UGS
,
P
ROBLEMS AND
L
IMITATIONS
This section contains the identified bugs and problems which could not be corrected in this version.
General
• On UNIX, the command window which is used to launch the manager is not available for any further operations (as long as the manager is open).
• On some platforms, there may be an error message when exiting the different modules. This message can be ignored.
Manager
• Problems may be encountered if the working directory name contains dots (".").
• If the Status is refreshed too often (by clicking on the "Status" button), a Tcl error may be encountered. This happens if the refresh is done exactly in the same time than the writing of the stat file by the solver. This can also happen if two refresh are done in a very short time interval.
PreCAST
• On some platform, the "Get coords" functionality to define symmetries is not working properly.
• On Sun, windows are opened behind the application, which can not be accessed.
• The display of the Virtual mold thermal depth has some problems.
• If GATEFEED is set to 1 and POROS to 0, the calculation does not start if no pressure BC is set (as there is a mistake in the logic of such testing). Work around : one should set GAFEFEED = 0 when POROS = 0.
• When a case is opened directly from PreCAST (and not from the Manager), if this case is located in a different directory (from the directory where PreCAST was launched) and if this directory contains a ".", the case can not be opened. Work around : open the case directly from the Manager.
• The material names should not contain blank spaces (this will generate an error in DataCAST : "An enthalpy function is referenced in 5 0 data set 1 which has not been given". Work around : if an old "d.dat" file is containing such a material name, one can edit the d.dat file and change the material name in the "card 5.0" to suppress the blanks ( 5 0 1
Version 2006.0 Page 34 • When displaying vectors in a slice, the contour of the slice does not appear. • It is not possible to superimpose a contour and vectors (in slices).
• Sometimes, the particle tracing is giving wrong results at the last steps of the filling.
• In same cases, the automatic timestep update is freezing ViewCAST on SGI. Work around : do not activate the automatic timestep update on SGI.
• The visualization of result files larger then 2 GB is not possible on IBM (as the executable of ViewCAST is 32 bits). Due to Tcl/Tk problems on IBM 64 bits, it was not possible to create an executable of ViewCAST 64 bits. Work around : use an other platform to visualize such results.
• On UNIX, depending on the configuration of the X-Server, it was observed that the performances of the graphics may be not optimum.
• When a case is opened directly from ViewCAST (and not from the Manager), if this case is located in a different directory (from the directory where
ViewCAST was launched) and if this directory contains a ".", the case can not be opened. Work around : open the case directly from the Manager.
• Particle tracing is not available in Tilt and Reservoir cases (i.e. when there is no inlet velocity, inlet pressure on inlet BC).
• In Tilt casting the velocity vectors will not "rotate" with the part and thus they will appear in the wrong direction. Work around : deactivate the tilt rotation in ViewCAST when viewing at velocity vectors.
• It is not possible to visualize only a filter. Work around : select also an other material.
• In Lost foam calculations, one see non-zero velocities in the mould at step zero. Just ignore these velocities which are meaningless.
• It is not possible to view the Particle tracing with symmetries (i.e. the traces are not replicated).
Solver
• It is not possible to fill simultaneously two separated cavities. One should fill only one cavity at a time or set (by hand in the p.dat file) the Run parameter COLDSHUT = 0 (this will deactivate the cold shut detection algorithm). • In models where there are more than one RESERVOIR domain, they should
all touch each other and they should be all full at the beginning. Otherwise, problems may be encountered.
• PIPEFS must be set to zero if it is to be followed by an Advanced Porosity calculation.
• It is not possible to model temperatures below -273°C (below absolute zero) with the THERMAL=2 model. Work around : use THERMAL = 1.
• When a domain defined as RESERVOIR is remaining full during the whole filling, the Pool model will be activated at the wrong fill fraction (i.e. at
LVSURF minus the volume of the reservoir). Work around : set this domain to CASTING instead of RESERVOIR, as if this domain remains full, it is useless to define it as RESERVOIR.
• On some Windows OS, the Open in MeshCAST is not done in the current working directory.
Miscellaneous
• Some error messages may appear during the use of CONVBIN, however, one can ignore these messages.
Version 2006.0 Page 36
GETTING STARTED
S
OFTWARE LAUNCH
Launch - Windows platform
When the software is installed on Windows, a directory named PAM-SYSTEM is automatically installed on the Desktop of the computer. Inside this directory, a "ProCAST 2006.0 Manager" icon is present.
To launch the software, double click on this icon and the ProCAST Manager will start.
Launch - UNIX / Linux Platforms
On UNIX / Linux platforms, the ProCAST Manager is launched by typing the command "cast" in a Console window.
ProCAST 2006.0 Manager
Both on Windows and on UNIX-Linux, the ProCAST 2006.0 Manager has the following appearance.
The "on-line help" can be opened with the "Help" button (1). The working directory should be set with the browse tools (2) . The "Case" name (or prefix) should be defined (3).
The different modules can be called with the upper buttons (4). The software is ready to be used.
Version 2006.0 Page 38
P
ROBLEM SET
-
UP
In order to get started, a very simple thermal problem will be set-up, step by step. To do so, a very simple mesh located in the installation directory will be used. Please note that the meshing, described in the MeshCAST manual will be
addressed in this section (please refer to the MeshCAST manual for more details). The mesh can be found in the following directory :
On Windows : %ProCAST20050%\Test\Geometry\Test.mesh On Unix / Linux : $ProCAST20050/Test/Geometry/Test.mesh
Software launch
This "Test.mesh" files should be copied in the desired working directory
(C:\Temp\Start in the following example). Then, the software manager should be launched (see previous section) and one should browse to the working directory and set the Case name (prefix) to "Test".
Pre-processing launch
When the "PreCAST" button is pressed (in the upper black band), the
A window with some information about the loaded model (number of domains, of nodes and elements, as well as the model size) appears. Any click on the menus will automatically close this window. The geometry can be rotated interactively with the mouse. The icon can be pressed in order to view the geometry in "Solid" mode.
Materials menu
The first operation to perform is to assign material properties to the two domains. The first domain should be selected (1) and the desired material properties should be selected in the database (2). An "H13-steel" is selected in this case. Then the "Assign" button should be pressed in order to assign the selected material properties to the given material domain (3). The material property assignment should be repeated for the second material domain (let's select the "AL-7%Si-0.3%Mg-A356" alloy.
Finally, the material type ("Mold" for the first domain and "Casting" for the second domain) should be specified (4). This is done with a right click in the
Version 2006.0 Page 40
Interface menu
In the interface menu, one should create the interfaces between the different material domains and assign the desired interface heat transfer coefficients. The type of interface should be specified. To do so, one should click once on "EQUIV" (1), which will change into "COINC" (for coincident interface). The "Apply" button (2), which is turning orange should be pressed to accept the coincident interface type. A message will appear on the screen, which should be acknowledged. The desired interface heat transfer coefficient should be selected in the database (3) and assigned to the corresponding interface (4).
Boundary Conditions menu
The cooling of the outside of the mold with the air, as well as the top surface of the casting should be defined in the "Boundary Conditions" menu.
The type of boundary condition should be selected with the "Add" button (1). The "Heat" type should be selected in the list which is appearing. Then, this "Heat" boundary condition appears in the BC-Type column (2). A "Heat" boundary condition allows to define a heat transfer coefficient between the model and the ambient air, as well as the air temperature. The corresponding values are selected in the database (3) and the "Assign" button is pressed (4) to link the Heat
boundary condition to the database values. The database entry number is then indicated in the "DB entry" column (5). This boundary condition should be then applied to the model. To do so, the "Select all" icon should be pressed (6) and all the model is colored in red (7), showing that all outside surfaces were selected. Finally, the "Store" button, which was turned to yellow, should be pressed in order to save the selection (8).
Version 2006.0 Page 42
Process menu
The gravity should be defined in the "Process menu". To do so, click on the menu "Process" and select the "Gravity" sub-menu. This will open the "Gravity" panel. A gravity in the -Z direction is set and the panel is closed with the "Close" button.
Initial Conditions menu
The initial temperature of both material domains should be specified in the "Initial Conditions" menu.
Each domain should be selected (1) and the initial temperature should be entered in the field in (2).
Version 2006.0 Page 44
Run Parameters Menu
Finally, the calculations parameters should be specified in the "Run Parameters" menu.
In this example, all the default values can be used. One could just modify the value of TSTOP (in the "General/Standard" tab) to 500°C (in order to stop the calculation when all the temperature are below 500°C).
Save and Exit
As the set-up of the model is finished, one can save and exit. In the "File" menu, one can select the "Exit" sub-menu. The software will ask whether one would like to save the model before exit. Select "Yes" and the software will first save the model and then exit PreCAST.
The pre-processing stage is finished and one is ready to launch the calculation.
Version 2006.0 Page 46
C
ALCULATION
The calculation can now be launched in the Manager. To do so, the "ProCAST" button should be pressed (1), which will open the confirmation window for the run. The "Execute DataCAST first" should be activated (2) and then one can confirm the launch of the solver by pressing the "Run" button (3).
On Windows, a Command window will open and the DataCAST and ProCAST are automatically launched. A PAUSE message is displayed when the calculation is finished.
The progress of the calculation can be monitored by pressing on the "Status" button of the Manager (top right button). The following window displays all the information about the current situation of the calculation.
Once the calculation is finished, or anytime during the calculation, one can view the results in the post-processor ViewCAST.
Version 2006.0 Page 48
R
ESULTS DISPLAY
To launch the post-processor, the button "ViewCAST" should be activated in the Manager.
Once the ViewCAST window is opened, one can interactively rotate the mouse (with a left click in the graphics area (1)). The material domains to be displayed can be selected with the icon (2). The result to be displayed (i.e. Temperature, Fraction of Solid, ...) should be selected in the "Contour" menu (3). In order to display a snapshot, the icon (4) should be active. Then, one can display the different timesteps with the tape player (5), either as an animation or as a step-by-step display. The scale can be changed by a click on the scale values (6).
Slices through the model can be obtained with the Slice icon (1). When no slices are defined, it will automatically open the slice definition window (2). Then, one should select the "Add ->" button and the "XYZ Plane" sub-menu, which will open the slice selection panel (3). When the desired slice is selected, the Apply button should be pressed and the slice will be displayed. One can select more than one slice by repeating the "Add ->" operation. Finally, one can show the different timesteps with the Tape player (4).