I am trying to simulate DC Casting of Aluminum Alloys in Comsol. I found an example related to Continuous Casting that it couples fluid flow, heat transfer and phase change during solidification of the liquid alloy. Is it possible to involve solid mechanics for the solidified shell that is computed from phase change model?
If it is not possible to do a fully-coupled model: Could you please tell me how can I set the model concerning only solid mechanics and heat transfer ? Is there a way in COMSOL to add in the presence of time, new layers of material while moving the boundary conditions (mold, water colling) silmutaneously, to simulate fluid flow ?
As Dr. Rudolf Hellmuth said, it is possible and complex.
You have to go for coupled field analysis. First you need to run the Heat transfer analysis and you can capture the fluid flow behavior too. Then the temperature gradient has to be given to Structural analysis to avail the mechanical stresses. Boundary conditions plays a major role in both the cases.
I greatly think it is possible. Delve much into it you will succeed
Thank you for your prompt response! Could you please give me your insights if you have done something similar ?
It's possible to couple all those physical effects together, but the more complex the model, the harder it is to validate it. One of the challenges is to use the right constitutive equations. Most constitutive equations are made considering many properties as constant. For example, variable stress-strain, constant temperature, constant resistance, constant density... you will probably end up using empirical adjustments to make your simulation give results similar to your experiment. Those assumptions will be specific to the conditions of your reference experiment, and won't necessarily work/be valid to a totally different set of conditions. Hence, be very careful when you look at the results, because they could end up not being accurate -- even if you had chosen the right algorithms, discretization and solver.
- Badges
- Science topic