Cast Iron Cooling Rate Variation Using Cooling Channels: A Numerical Approach
Olumide Adewole Towoju *
Mechanical Engineering, Lead City University, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The cooling rate of molten cast iron can make or mar it. The cooling rate plays a significant role in the resulting mechanical properties of cast iron. It determines the grain growth and size. The mechanical properties of cast iron variation along its length are achieved either with the use of different mold materials or by sectioning to ensure varied cooling rates. Mechanical properties can, however, also be varied along its length without any of these adopted methods by the incorporation of cooling channels in the mould. This study seeks to expand the frontier of this concept with the use of different cooling fluids and fluid flow rate, and numerically investigate the impact on the cooling rate of gray cast iron (class 40). The cooling curve for the cast iron was impacted by the use of different cooling fluids with the attainment of the desired mechanical properties with the selection of an appropriate cooling fluid. Also, the flow rate of the cooling fluid has an impact on the cast iron cooling rate.
Keywords: Cast Iron, cooling channels, cooling fluids, grain size.