This article presents a sequential model of the heating-remelting-cooling of steel samples based on the finite element method (FEM) and the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). The numerical implementation of the developed solution was completed as part of the original DEFFEM 3D package, being developed for over ten years, and is a dedicated tool to aid physical simulations performed with modern Gleeble thermo-mechanical simulators. Using the developed DEFFEM 3D software to aid physical simulations allows the number of costly tests to be minimized, and additional process information to be obtained, e.g. achieved local cooling rates at any point in the sample tested volume, or characteristics of temperature changes. The study was complemented by examples of simulation and experimental test results, indicating that the adopted model assumptions were correct. The developed solution is the basis for the development of DEFFEM 3D software aimed at developing a comprehensive numerical model allows the simulation of deformation of steel in semi solid state.
The article presents the use of computer graphics methods and computational geometry for the analysis on changes of geometrical parameters for a mixed zone in resistance-heated samples. To perform the physical simulation series of resistance heating process, the Gleeble 3800 physical simulator, located in the Institute for Ferrous Metallurgy in Gliwice, was used. The paper presents a description of the test stand and the method for performing the experiment. The numerical model is based on the Fourier-Kirchoff differential equation for unsteady heat flow with an internal volumetric heat source. In the case of direct heating of the sample, geometrical parameters of the remelting zone change rapidly. The described methodology of using shape descriptors to characterise the studied zone during the process allows to parametrise the heat influence zones. The shape descriptors were used for the chosen for characteristic timing steps of the simulation, which allowed the authors to describe the changes of the studied parameters as a function of temperature. Additionally, to determine the impact of external factors, the remelting zone parameters were estimated for two types of grips holding the sample, so-called hot grips of a shorter contact area with the sample, and so-called cold grips. Based on the collected data, conclusions were drawn on the impact of the process parameters on the localisation and shape of the mushy zone.
This paper presents practical capabilities of a system for ceramic mould quality forecasting implemented in an industrial plant (foundry). The main assumption of the developed solution is the possibility of eliminating a faulty mould from a production line just before the casting operation. It allows relative savings to be achieved, and faulty moulds, and thus faulty castings occurrence in the production cycle to be minimized. The numerical computing module (the DEFFEM 3D package), based on the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) is one of key solutions of the system implemented. Due to very long computing times, the developed numerical module cannot be effectively used to carry out multi-variant simulations of mould filling and solidification of castings. To utilize the benefits from application of the CUDA architecture to improve the computing effectiveness, the most time consuming procedure of looking for neighbours was parallelized (cell-linked list method). The study is complemented by examples of results of performance tests and their analysis.