Integration of Coupled Casting and Structure Simulation for Magnesium Die Castings

Simulation is an important tool in the different phases during development. It is used in the early, purely virtual development phase as well as in later production and final test phases, respectively, to analyse and solve issues of the components.

To simulate the structural behaviour one needs, besides the design, also the material properties of the component. The quality of the simulation is improved by an advanced characterisation of the material. Dimensioning and structure simulation of die cast components are usually based on material properties that were derived from separately cast specimens. Actually, due to the process parameters the properties of die cast components could differ from those of specimens. One reason is that die casting conditions may vary locally leading to different morphological characteristics, defect size and defect type in complex components. The properties could vary depending on thickness, distance to injection location, and between casting surface and centre of respective cross section.

It is explained in this paper that Takata-Petri and Calcom ESI found a way to couple die casting and structural simulation. By doing so, the influence of the die Magnesium alloy castings quality (gaseous entrapments, shrinkage cavities, and layering) on the component strength is considered. The integration of this method into the development process is described and the resulting improvements are explained. The results of the investigations about the interaction of the morphological characteristics of the cast material of a steering wheel and its material and component properties are used to confirm the method.