Comprehensive Simulation in Casting Processes

PoligonSoft uses the modern and accurate finite element method to ensure that the surface and volume of the casting model match the original as closely as possible.

The user decides where maximum detail is required and where a coarser mesh can be used to maximize computational resources.

The integrated editing and quality control functions of the finite element model allow for rapid manipulation of the mesh without needing to rebuild it in the mesh generator.

Mesh quality inspection tools based on predefined parameters identify elements with critical angles or irregular shapes and correct or eliminate them.

Special tools analyze the geometry for thin walls and locally refine the mesh to improve calculation accuracy.

In the design process, it is often necessary to calculate many variants of the gating system and risers or technological regimes. In this process, usually, only the geometry of the casting block or the pouring temperature changes, while all materials and heat transfer conditions remain unchanged.

To avoid routine operations when starting the calculation, PoligonSoft uses templates of technological processes, which provide the user with already tested and characteristic data sets for each technology.

In investment casting, the ceramic mold has a geometry defined by its thickness and the shape of the wax master model surface.

The shell generator allows creating a mesh model of the ceramic mold with a specified thickness without any prior construction in the CAD system. This way, uncomplicated elements like covers, coatings, insulating and exothermic mixtures, etc., can be modeled.

PoligonSoft comes with a database of materials and alloys, including the properties of many steels, cast irons, aluminum, nickel, titanium, copper, zinc, and precious alloys.

It contains materials for molds: sands, ceramics, insulating and exothermic sleeves, and many other materials used in casting. The database can be edited and updated by the user.

The thermal solver "Fourier" calculates temperature and phase fields, considering heat transfer (by conduction, convection, radiation) and the heat release during solidification.

Fourier allows for complex multi-stage calculations during which cooling conditions and model geometry can be changed.

The module enables the calculation of:

One of the apparent advantages of PoligonSoft is the model of macro and microporosity of shrinkage, which allows predicting the formation of defects in critical use castings (turbine working and nozzle blades, monoblock wheels, pump impellers, etc.)

Special algorithms that consider the capillary effect and the pressure drop during the solidification of closed thermal nodes allow for more accurate calculation of the defect pattern

PoligonSoft can solve complex radiation heat transfer tasks, taking into account re-radiation and shading.

This is important not only for vacuum casting but also for casting of foundry blocks on "trees" using the investment casting technology without the use of a supporting filler material.

The placement of castings on the tree, the location of the blocks relative to each other during casting and cooling, can significantly affect the porosity pattern.

Internal chillers are made from the same alloy as the casting and are installed inside the mold cavity. During the mold filling with the alloy, the internal chillers partially or completely melt and weld with the base metal. The chillers can influence the thermal profile of the casting, its solidification, and prevent the occurrence of shrinkage porosity.

The ability to simulate this process is a feature that distinguishes PoligonSoft from many similar systems.

The "Euler" module allows for the calculation of mold filling with molten mass at a constant or variable speed through one or several sprues.

It calculates the temperature drop of the molten metal when contacting the mold walls and the heat transfer to the surroundings, as well as solidification, which can lead to the flow stopping and filling defects.

A special algorithm enables investigating the operation of the sprue system, identifying its critical points, and finding optimal sizes, locations, and the number of risers.

Thanks to the use of the finite element method, the "PoligonSoft" system is successfully used to model very large castings and, at the same time, comparatively thin-walled.

In combination with the ability to use symmetry and multithreading calculations, the modeling process takes a reasonably acceptable time. At the same time, the computational resources used (mainly the amount of RAM) do not exceed the limits of ordinary office PCs.

The "Hooke" solver is designed to calculate the residual stresses and strains that arise in the casting during cooling and interaction with the mold. An integrated algorithm predicts the formation of cracks and indicates areas of potential destruction.

The reliability and stability of the algorithms allow the solver to be used even for modeling thermal treatment processes (quenching in various media, annealing, tempering, etc.) to determine residual stresses, deformations, warping, and potential destruction both in the casting and the mold.

The calculation is based on the theory of small elastoplastic deformations created by A. Ilyushin and the Newton method. The module allows calculating: