Thermohydrodynamic lubrication-based friction mechanism modeling and integrated simulation of dynamic coordination for squeeze casting processes.

Friction plays an important role in the injection mechanism of squeeze casting machines. To control the injection process of aluminum alloy more accurately, a novel numerical simulation method based on a friction-integrated finite element (FE) model is proposed in this paper. A friction mechanism model of the injection mechanism based on thermohydrodynamic lubrication (THDL) was developed, and with the application of a friction-generating experiment, the influences of temperature, interaction speed, and fit clearance on the friction-related characteristics of an injection mechanism were ultimately evaluated. The THDL model was integrated into a thermomechanical coupling FE model to simulate the multicycle injection process, and the simulation results were compared with those of the general model in the absence of friction. The effects of friction on the temperature, deformation, and fit clearance of the injection mechanism were analyzed. The accuracy of the friction-integrated model was also evaluated in an injection experiment. A multicycle injection experiment platform that measures the temperature and deformation of the injection mechanism online in real-time was developed. When the numerical simulation results of the two models were compared with the experimental data, the friction-integrated model achieved more reliable results than the general model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]