Modeling of filling and solidification process for TiAl exhaust valves during suction casting

Investment and suction casting (ISC) represents an economic and promising process route to fabricate automotive exhaust valves of γ-TiAl based alloys, but information available on the metal flow and the temperature changes during mould filling and solidification process for the ISC process is meager. A sequentially coupled mathematical flow-thermal model, based on the commercial finite-volume/finite-difference code FLOW-3D and the finite-element code PROCAST, has been developed to investigate the ISC process. In term of calculating the flow and temperature fields during the filling and solidification stages, potential defects including the gas bubbles and the surface air entrainment occurred in the mould filling process and the shrinkage porosities formed in the solidification process are predicted and the reasons for the formation of these defects are also analyzed. The effects of filling pressure difference control methods and moulds on gas bubble and surface air entrainment behavior are presented. It is found that by changing the filling pressure difference control methods from general suction casting to “air leakage” suction casting and reducing air leakage flow rates, the gas bubbles are eliminated effectively, and the surface air entrainment attenuate dramatically. With resort to a mould with a tetragonal runner, the surface air entrainment decrease to the lowest level. Finally, the water analogue and suction casting experiments of exhaust valves are implemented for further validation of the simulation results.