Im vorliegenden Bericht werden die Erfahrungen und Ergebnisse aus dem Projekt OptCast zusammengestellt. Das Ziel dieses Projekts bestand (a) in der Anpassung der Methodik der automatischen Strukturoptimierung für Gussteile und (b) in der Entwicklung und Bereitstellung von gießereispezifischen Optimierungstools für Gießereien und Ingenieurbüros. Gießtechnische Restriktionen lassen sich nicht vollständig auf geometrische Restriktionen reduzieren, da die lokalen Eigenschaften nicht nur von der geometrischen Form des Gussteils, sondern auch vom verwendeten Material abhängen. Sie sind jedoch über eine Gießsimulation (Erstarrungssimulation und Eigenspannungsanalyse) adäquat erfassbar. Wegen dieser Erkenntnis wurde ein neuartiges Topologieoptimierungsverfahren unter Verwendung der Level-Set-Technik entwickelt, bei dem keine variable Dichte des Materials eingeführt wird. In jeder Iteration wird ein scharfer Rand des Bauteils berechnet. Somit ist die Gießsimulation in den iterativen Optimierungsprozess integrierbar.
In this paper we consider numerical algorithms for solving a system of nonlinear PDEs arising in modeling of liquid polymer injection. We investigate the particular case when a porous preform is located within the mould, so that the liquid polymer flows through a porous medium during the filling stage. The nonlinearity of the governing system of PDEs is due to the non-Newtonian behavior of the polymer, as well as due to the moving free boundary. The latter is related to the penetration front and a Stefan type problem is formulated to account for it. A finite-volume method is used to approximate the given differential problem. Results of numerical experiments are presented. We also solve an inverse problem and present algorithms for the determination of the absolute preform permeability coefficient in the case when the velocity of the penetration front is known from measurements. In both cases (direct and inverse problems) we emphasize on the specifics related to the non-Newtonian behavior of the polymer. For completeness, we discuss also the Newtonian case. Results of some experimental measurements are presented and discussed.
Free Surface Lattice-Boltzmann Method To Model The Filling Of Expanding Cavities By Bingham Fluids
(2001)
The filling process of viscoplastic metal alloys and plastics in expanding cavities is modelled using the lattice Boltzmann method in two and three dimensions. These models combine the regularized Bingham model for viscoplastic with a free-interface algorithm. The latter is based on a modified immiscible lattice Boltzmann model in which one species is the fluid and the other one is considered as vacuum. The boundary conditions at the curved liquid-vacuum interface are met without any geometrical front reconstruction from a first-order Chapman-Enskog expansion. The numerical results obtained with these models are found in good agreement with available theoretical and numerical analysis.
Lattice Boltzmann Model for Free-Surface flow and Its Application to Filling Process in Casting
(2002)
A generalized lattice Boltzmann model to simulate free-surface is constructed in both two and three dimensions. The proposed model satisfies the interfacial boundary conditions accurately. A distinctive feature of the model is that the collision processes is carried out only on the points occupied partially or fully by the fluid. To maintain a sharp interfacial front, the method includes an anti-diffusion algorithm. The unknown distribution functions at the interfacial region are constructed according to the first order Chapman-Enskog analysis. The interfacial boundary conditions are satisfied exactly by the coefficients in the Chapman-Enskog expansion. The distribution functions are naturally expressed in the local interfacial coordinates. The macroscopic quantities at the interface are extracted from the least-square solutions of a locally linearized system obtained from the known distribution functions. The proposed method does not require any geometric front construction and is robust for any interfacial topology. Simulation results of realistic filling process are presented: rectangular cavity in two dimensions and Hammer box, Campbell box, Sheffield box, and Motorblock in three dimensions. To enhance the stability at high Reynolds numbers, various upwind-type schemes are developed. Free-slip and no-slip boundary conditions are also discussed.
To simulate the influence of process parameters to the melt spinning process a fiber model is used and coupled with CFD calculations of the quench air flow. In the fiber model energy, momentum and mass balance are solved for the polymer mass flow. To calculate the quench air the Lattice Boltzmann method is used. Simulations and experiments for different process parameters and hole configurations are compared and show a good agreement.
A Lattice Boltzmann Method for immiscible multiphase flow simulations using the Level Set Method
(2008)
We consider the lattice Boltzmann method for immiscible multiphase flow simulations. Classical lattice Boltzmann methods for this problem, e.g. the colour gradient method or the free energy approach, can only be applied when density and viscosity ratios are small. Moreover, they use additional fields defined on the whole domain to describe the different phases and model phase separation by special interactions at each node. In contrast, our approach simulates the flow using a single field and separates the fluid phases by a free moving interface. The scheme is based on the lattice Boltzmann method and uses the level set method to compute the evolution of the interface. To couple the fluid phases, we develop new boundary conditions which realise the macroscopic jump conditions at the interface and incorporate surface tension in the lattice Boltzmann framework. Various simulations are presented to validate the numerical scheme, e.g. two-phase channel flows, the Young-Laplace law for a bubble and viscous fingering in a Hele-Shaw cell. The results show that the method is feasible over a wide range of density and viscosity differences.