Contact Element Generation Method for Casting Analysis by using Projection Method

Projection Method에 의한 주조 해석용 접촉 요소망 생성 기법

In general, hot metal castings contract and molds expand during the cooling step of a casting process. Therefore, it is important to consider both the casting and mold at the same time in a casting process analysis. For a more accurate analysis that includes the contact characteristics, matching each node of the casting and mold in the contact area is recommended. However, it is very difficult to match the nodes of the casting and the mold when generating elements due to the geometric problem of CAD model data. The present study proposes a mesh generation technique that considers mechanical contact between the casting and the mold in a casting analysis (finite element analysis). The technique focuses on the fact that the mold surrounds the casting. After generating the 3D elements for the casting, the surface elements of the casting in contact with the mold are projected inside the mold to create contact elements that coincide with the contact surface of the casting. It was confirmed that high-quality contact element information and a 3D element net can be automatically generated by the method proposed in this study.