Optimum design and analysis of riser for sand casting

Solidification of metals continues to be a phenomenon of great interest to physicists, metallurgists, casting engineers and software developers. It is a non-linear transient phenomenon, posing a challenge in terms of modelling and analysis. This paper attempts to study heat flow within the casting, as well as from the casting to the mould, and finally obtains the temperature history of all points inside the casting. The most important instant of time is when the hottest region inside the casting is solidifying. ANSYS software has been used to obtain the last solidifying region in the casting process by performing Transient Thermal Analysis. Location of the hot spot predicted by software simulation showed good agreement with the experimental trial. It was also observed that the simulation of casting helps in obtaining optimum design of riser.