Design of gating system for propeller casting through melt flow simulation

Marine propellers have a complex geometry and uneven thickness, which causes severe and unpredictable problems during the casting process. Designing a proper gating system leads to the production of clean and sound castings. In this paper, a computer modelling study was carried out for casting of a marine propeller using a commercially available software package was used to explore the improvement of filling systems based on the relatively new concepts of avoiding entrainment of air bubbles and oxides by avoiding surface turbulence. In the simulation process, bottom-pour and top-pour designs were considered, which were examined in 7 trials. Since a critical velocity of 0.5 m/s is required to produce clean and sound castings, suitable methods were used to reduce the melt velocity to 0.5 m/s. This obtained results out of this research paper confirm that the use of a filter, an extended runner, and a fan gate is favourable for reducing the melt velocity along the melt path.