PSI - Issue 79

Kazem Reza Kashyzadeh et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 79 (2026) 65–72

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showed a moderate velocity of 1.84 m/s, while the last scenario demonstrated the most favorable and lowest velocity of 1.23 m/s. This lower velocity promotes a more laminar flow, minimizing turbulence, reducing the potential for mold erosion, and decreasing the entrapment of oxides and gases. 3.4. Air Entrapment The "Last Air" analysis, which identifies regions where air is trapped during the filling process, showed a maximum value of 1 for various scenarios. It means that air entrapment is a potential issue in all initial designs. However, the location and severity can vary as illustrated in Figure 6.

(a)

(b)

(c)

Fig. 6. The results of "Last Air" analysis for various casting scenarios including: (a) scenarios No. 1, (b) scenarios No. 2, and (c) scenarios No. 3.

4. Conclusion This study successfully employed a simulation-driven approach to optimize the molten pool position in the sand casting of a complex steering knuckle geometry. Through a systematic finite element analysis using Altair Inspire Cast, three distinct pouring scenarios were evaluated based on critical performance indicators, including thermal stress, defect formation, mold erosion, and solidification behavior. The key findings conclusively demonstrate that the molten pool position in scenario No. 3 is the optimal configuration (Table 2).

Table 2. Summary of key simulation results for various casting scenarios.

Casting scenarios

Parameter

Achievement

No. 1

No. 2

No. 3

Max. thermal stress (MPa) Max. temperature ( ℃ ) Max. cold shuts

1324.96

9869.91

1497.4

Scenario No. 2 shows critically high stress. Scenario No. 1 shows high temperature gradient.

1270

1164.41

1165.02

105.10

16.95

0

Scenario No. 3 is defect-free.

Max. velocity (m/s) Max. solid fraction

1.84

2.03

1.23

Scenario No. 3 has the lowest erosion risk. Scenario No. 3 shows complete solidification.

0.1

0.6

1.0

Last air

1

1

1

Same for all scenarios.

For future work, it is attempted to pursue the optimization considering scenario No. 3 including optimizing the casting parameters as well as the riser system design to further control micro-shrinkage.