Computer Simulation and Analysis of Investment Casting of Thin Patterns

This thesis deals with the analysis of the investment casting process and its application in thin patterns of the order of 0.15 mm. To this aim, two approaches have been used and carried on in parallel. An experimental one, in which several castings have been performed with different parameters, and a numerical investigation in which a theoretical model has been studied and developed through the use of OpenFOAM, an open source CFD library, and ProCAST, a commercial software tailored for the study of casting simulations. The results obtained following these two approaches, have been then compared both in terms of filling volume and of filling time. To achieve the former one, a system of thermocouples placed in the most critical locations of the mold has been developed so that the results obtained could validate the numerical approach. From the results acquired through the simulations, many other aspects of the casting process have been revealed, as the solidification time and fluid behavior, otherwise very difficult to collect.