MAGMASOFT Simulation of Sand Casting Process with EV31A Magnesium Alloy

Magnesium alloys with rare earth (RE) elements addition, modified with zirconium are used for cast, light-weight solutions for components applied at temperature up to 250-300 °C. Computational methods are often used by the foundries to decrease the cost of a new product start-up. The commercially available magmasoft software is widely used to simulate a casting process. Nevertheless, its database does not contain complete data for modern alloys. We present the results of our investigations on the thermo-physical properties of a EV31A magnesium alloy and the simulation of a sand casting process with applied data. We compared the simulation and technological trials, recognized problems occurring during the simulation, and applied corrections. Our final simulations gave acceptable results. The differences between the technological tests and the simulation were caused by factors that are difficult to model in the simulation, such as the presence of nonmetallic inclusions and the degree of modification of the liquid alloy.