Casting Simulation Within the Framework of ICME: Coupling of Solidification, Heat Treatment, and Structural Analysis

Integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) is becoming a compulsory practice for developing advanced materials, re-thinking manufacturing processing, and engineering components to meet challenging design goals quickly and cost-effectively. As a key component of the ICME approach, a numerical approach is being developed for the prediction of casting microstructure, defects formation and mechanical properties from solidification to heat treatment. Because of the processing conditions and complexity of geometry, material properties of a cast part are not normally homogeneous. This variation and the potential weakening inherent in manufacturing are currently accommodated by incorporating large safety factors that counter design goals. The simulation of the different manufacturing process stages is integrated such that the resultant microstructure of the previous event is used as the initial condition of the following event, ensuring the tracking of the component history while maintaining a high level of accuracy across these manufacturing stages. This paper explains the significance of integrated analytical prediction to obtain more precise simulation results and sets out how available techniques may be applied accordingly.