Finite Element Model Correlation of an Investment Casting Process

The achievement of reliable simulations, in the case of complex processes as is the investment casting, is not a trivial task. Their accuracy is significantly related with the knowledge of the material properties and boundary conditions involved, but the estimation of these values usually is highly complex. One helpful option to try to avoid these difficulties is the use of inverse modelling techniques, where experimental temperature measurements are used as base to correlate the simulation models. The research presented hereafter corresponds to the correlation of a finite element model of the investment casting process of two nickel base superalloys, Hastelloy X and Inconel 718. The simulation model has been developed in a commercial software focused specifically on metal casting simulation. The experimental measurements used as base for the adjustment, have been performed at industrial facilities. The methodology employed combines the use of an automatic tool for model correlation with the manual adjustment guided by the researchers. Results obtained present a good agreement between simulation and experimental measurements, according to the industrial necessities. The model obtained is valid for the two studied cases with the only difference of the alloy material properties. The values obtained for the adjusted parameters in both cases are reasonable compared with bibliographic values. These two circumstances suggest that the obtained correlation is appropriate and no overfitting problems exist on it.