Pouring of liquid aluminium is typically accompanied by disturbance of the free surface. During these disturbances, the free surface oxide

films can be entrained in the bulk of liquid, also pockets of air can be accidentally trapped in this oxide films. The resultant scattering of

porosity in castings seems nearly always to originate from the pockets of entrained air in oxide films. Latest version of ProCast software

allows to identify the amount of oxides formed at the free surface and where they are most likely to end-up in casts. During a filling

calculation, ProCast can calculate different indicators which allow to better quantify the filling pattern. The fluid front tracking indicator “

Free surface time exposure” has the units [cm2*s]. At each point of the free surface, the free surface area is multiplied by the time. This

value is cumulated with the value of the previous timestep. In addition, this value is transported with the free surface and with the fluid

flow.Experiments to validate this new functions were executed.

The numerical investigation of the mixing process in complex geometry micromixers, as a function of various inlet conditions and various micromixer vibrations, was performed. The examined devices were two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) types of serpentine micromixers with two inlets. Entering fluids were perturbed with a wide range of the frequency (0 - 50 Hz) of pulsations. Additionally, mixing fluids also entered in the same or opposite phase of pulsations. The performed numerical calculations were 3D to capture the proximity of all the walls, which has a substantial influence on microchannel flow. The geometry of the 3D type serpentine micromixer corresponded to the physically existing device, characterised by excellent mixing properties but also a challenging production process (Malecha et al., 2009). It was shown that low-frequency perturbations could improve the average mixing efficiency of the 2D micromixer by only about 2% and additionally led to a disadvantageously non-uniform mixture quality in time. It was also shown that high-frequency mixing could level these fluctuations and more significantly improve the mixing quality. In the second part of the paper a faster and simplified method of evaluation of mixing quality was introduced. This method was based on calculating the length of the contact interface between mixing fluids. It was used to evaluate the 2D type serpentine micromixer performance under various types of vibrations and under a wide range of vibration frequencies.

In contemporary high-pressure die casting foundries, the mastery of each sequence in the production cycle is more and more important. In the paper, an example of virtual analysis of gearbox casting from Al alloy will be presented. It includes a large variety of parameters, as follows: choosing of appropriate foundry technology, calculation of computer simulation of casting process which takes into account the filling process of cold chamber and filling of cavity, model description of three phases in high-pressure die casting, flow of molten metal, solidification, formation of stress and deformations. Additionally, the optimization of cooling and heating systems will be compared with calculated volume defects, dimensions of castings and their deformations with experimentally obtained values.

This paper presents a numerical investigation of fracture criterion influence on perforation of high-strength 30PM steel plates subjected to 7.6251 mm Armour Piercing (AP) projectile. An evaluation of four ductile fracture models is performed to identify the most suitable fracture criterion. Included in the paper is the Modified Johnson-Cook (MJC) constitutive model coupled separately with one of these fracture criteria: the MJC fracture model, the Cockcroft-Latham (CL), the maximum shear stress and the constant failure strain models. A 3D explicit Lagrangian algorithm that includes both elements and particles, is used in this study to automatically convert distorted elements into meshless particles during the course of the computation. Numerical simulations are examined by comparing with the experimental results. The MJC fracture model formulated in the space of the stress triaxiality and the equivalent plastic strain to fracture were found capable of predicting the realistic fracture patterns and at the same time the correct projectile residual velocities. However, this study has shown that CL one parameter fracture criterion where only one simple material test is required for calibration is found to give good results as the MJC failure criterion. The maximum shear stress fracture criterion fails to capture the shear plugging failure and material fracture properties cannot be fully characterized with the constant fracture strain.

A design of the centrifugal recirculation blower as well as results of its experimental and numerical investigations are presented in this paper. The blower was designed to work in the unique test stand which is used for long-term tests of turbine flowmeters. A 1D method was used to design this blower, then experimental and numerical studies were conducted in order to verify the 1D method. A comparison of the blower pressure increase obtained from the experiment and the computations is presented. Velocity and pressure distributions from the numerical simulations in selected sections are also shown and discussed. Additional numerical studies of a shrouded rotor and a rotor with a lower tip clearance were conducted and are presented in the paper as well.

The current numerical study focuses on the feasibility of furnishing thermal comfort in a structure, by using paraffin wax stored on a plate below the ceiling in a multi-storey building. The method is aimed to reduce energy demands at the increasing thermal loads. In summer, in daytime, walls of the building are exposed to the ambient thermal load, and heat transferred inside is absorbed by the melting wax. The study is numerical. It relates to temperature variations outside and inside, coupled with heat conduction and accumulation in walls, with radiation between the surfaces, with natural convection of air inside and melting of the wax at the ceiling. Fins spacing on the storage plate, visualization of the melting process, and its parametric investigation provide an insight into the physical phenomena. Temperature and flow fields were investigated for 3 mm and 12 mm thick layers of wax. At the specified conditions of the present study a 3 mm layer provides thermal comfort for most of the day, while a 6 mm layer may suffice for the entire day. Fluent 6.3 software was used in the computations.

As part of the work, the error level of simulations of uniform optical-fibre Bragg gratings was determined using the transitionmatrixmethod. The errorswere established by comparing the transmission characteristics of the structures obtained by simulation with the corresponding characteristics arrived at experimentally. To compile these objects, elementary properties of the characteristics were specified, also affecting the applications of Bragg gratings, and compared with each other. The level of error in determining each of these features was estimated. Relationships were also found between the size of the physical properties of Bragg gratings and the level of errors obtained. Based on the findings, the correctness of the simulation of structures with the said method was verified, giving satisfying results.

Chunky graphite has been recognized for a long time as one of the major problems in production of heavy section nodular cast iron. A great number of studies have been conducted to describe the chunky graphite formation, but a clear understanding of its appearance and a safe mastering of the melt preparation to avoid chunky graphite are not yet available. In the present work the cooling curves were recorded in large cone blocks and standard TA cup. According to measured data from the cone block, melt characteristics and heat transfer coefficient between casting and mould were adjusted in the ProCAST® simulation software. For a near-eutectic nodular cast iron test melt with 0.7 wt. % Ni, relationship between the area of the cone block affected by chunky graphite and simulation software results has been observed, i.e., thermal modulus and time to solidus.

The mathematical model and numerical simulations of the solidification of a cylindrical shaped casting, which take into account the process of filling the mould cavity by liquid metal and feeding the casting through the riser during its solidification, are presented in the paper. Mutual dependence of thermal and flow phenomena were taken into account because have an essential influence on solidification process. The effect of the riser shape on the effectiveness of feeding of the solidifying casting was determined. In order to obtain the casting without shrinkage defects, an appropriate selection of riser shape was made, which is important for foundry practice. Numerical calculations of the solidification process of system consisting of the casting and the conical or cylindrical riser were carried out. The velocity fields have been obtained from the solution of momentum equations and continuity equation, while temperature fields from solving the equation of heat conductivity containing the convection term. Changes in thermo-physical parameters as a function of temperature were considered. The finite element method (FEM) was used to solve the problem.