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Numerical Simulation and Experimental Validation of Residual Stresses in Water-Quenched Aluminum Alloy Castings

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Abstract

Aluminum alloy castings are normally water quenched after solution treatment to improve mechanical properties. Rapid water quenching can result in high-residual stress and severe distortion which significantly affect functionality and performance of the products. To optimize product design and durability, one needs to model and predict residual stress and distortion produced in the water-quenched components. In this article, a finite element-based approach was developed to simulate the transient heat transfer and residual stress development during water quenching. In this approach, an iterative zone-based heat transfer algorithm was coupled with material constitutive model called mechanical threshold stress (MTS). With the integrated models, a good agreement was achieved between the numerically predicted and the experimentally measured residual stresses in the aluminum alloy frame-shape casting. The integrated FEA-based heat transfer and residual stress models were also applied to a water-quenched cast aluminum cylinder head with a great success.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported financially by PowerTrain, General Motors Company, MI, USA. Dr. Bing Li from GM PowerTrain helped with meshing the cylinder head.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Manufacturing Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, 01609, USA

    Bowang Xiao & Yiming Rong

  2. Mechanical Engineering, Oakland University, 103 Dodge Hall, Rochester, MI, 48309, USA

    Keyu Li

  3. Global Product Engineering, General Motors Company, Pontiac, MI, 48340, USA

    Qigui Wang

Authors
  1. Bowang Xiao
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  2. Keyu Li
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  3. Qigui Wang
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  4. Yiming Rong
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Correspondence to Bowang Xiao.

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Xiao, B., Li, K., Wang, Q. et al. Numerical Simulation and Experimental Validation of Residual Stresses in Water-Quenched Aluminum Alloy Castings. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 20, 1648–1657 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-011-9866-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-011-9866-7

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