Effect of Casting Thickness and Plunger Velocity on Porosity in Al Plate Diecasting

The Al die casting process has been widely used in the manufacturing of automotive parts when the process requires near-net shape casting and a high productive rate. However, porosity arises in the casting process, and this hampers the wider use of this method for the creation of high-durability automotive components. The porosity can be controlled by the shot condition, but, it is critical to set the shot condition in the sleeve, and it remains difficult to optimize the shot condition to avoid air entrapment efficiently. In this study, the 4.5 mm, 2.0 mm plate die castings were fabricated under various shot conditions, such as plunger velocities of 0.7 m/s ~ 3.0 m/s and fast shot set points of the cavity of -25%, 0%, 25%, and 50%. The mold filling behavior of Al melts in the cavity was analyzed by a numerical method. Also, according to the shot conditions, the results of numerical analyses were compared to those of die-casting experiments. The porosity levels of the plate castings were analyzed by X-ray CT images and by density and microstructural analyses. The effects of the porosity on the mechanical properties were analyzed by tensile tests and hardness tests. The simulation results are in good general agreements with the die-casting experimental results. When plunger velocity and fast shot set point are 1.0 m/s and cavity 25% position, castings had optimum condition for good mechanical properties and a low level of porosity.