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Study on the Distribution Characteristics of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties Within the Cylinder Head of Low-Pressure Sand Cast Aluminum Alloy

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Abstract

The cylinder head is one of the most complex and concentrated load components of the engine, playing an important role in the safety and reliability of the engine. In this paper, the finite element method is used to simulate the casting and heat treatment process of cylinder head. The distribution characteristics of microstructure, shrinkage porosity defects as well as mechanical properties are analyzed, and the mechanical properties simulation results were verified by experimental data. The results show that the microstructure varies significantly at different regions and is related to local cooling rate. The shrinkage porosity defects are mainly distributed in the thick walls and thin–thick wall junctions, but the porosity value is small and the effect on the mechanical properties could be ignored. The mechanical properties of different cylinders are similar, but there are obvious differences at the top plate, force wall and bottom plate in each cylinder, with a maximum difference of 12%. The large discrepancies of microstructure, shrinkage porosity defects as well as mechanical properties in cylinder head are caused by the different local filling and cooling conditions in the casting process.

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Funding

This work was supported by Chinese National Program on Key Basic Research Project (Grant No.261 6141B012887).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China

    Yuan Li, Jinxiang Liu & Weiqing Huang

  2. China North Engine Research Institute, Tianjin, 300400, China

    Haitao Zhou

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  1. Yuan Li
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  2. Jinxiang Liu
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JL contributed to the conception of the study; YL performed the simulation and the data analyses as well as wrote the manuscript, contributing significantly to analysis and manuscript preparation; HZ and WH helped perform the analysis with constructive discussions.

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Correspondence to Jinxiang Liu.

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Li, Y., Liu, J., Zhou, H. et al. Study on the Distribution Characteristics of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties Within the Cylinder Head of Low-Pressure Sand Cast Aluminum Alloy. Inter Metalcast 16, 1252–1264 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40962-021-00678-5

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