TSINGHUA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

ISSN 1007-0214 17/23 ppl76—180

Volume 1. Number 2, June 1996

Numerical Simulation and Analysis of Residual Stress

in Machine Tool Bed Casting *

Xiong Shoumei ($kt£)> Liu Baicheng ( # ï ï A ) - Zhu Riming (jfLa 8 ^), Gao Ying (S &)1

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University. Beijing 100084;

T
Beijing Machine Tool Research Institute. Beijing 100021

Abstract: A combined FDM/FEM software system was developed to analyze the temperature and stress distribu-
tions in castings. The FDM was used to calculate the temperature distribution while the FEM was used for the stress
simulation. For practical application, a machine tool bed iron casting was selected and the high temperature me-
chanical properties of the cast iron were measured. The FDM/FEM simulation results of the temperature and stress
distributions of the solidification process of the casting using current production technology agreed well with the mea-
sured temperature and residual stress results. A modified production technology was then proposed. The numerical
simulation results showed that the temperature distribution of the modified production technology was more uniform
and the distribution and value of residual stresses were more favorable to dimensional stability of the machine tool.

Key words: machine tool bed casting: numerical simulation: residual stress; FDM: FEM

been used widely for practical applications in devel-

Introduction oped countries1-3-1.
T h e increasing demand for more precise machine In this paper, a numerical simulation s y s t e m for
tools has increased t h e dimensional stability and p r e - analyzing temperature and stress distributions of
cision r e q u i r e m e n t s of iron castings, which are wide- castings has been developed. F o r practical applica-
ly used as the basic components of machine tools. A tion, the computed results of a machine tool bed cast-
large a m o u n t of research work to reduce the residual ing were compared with the experimental studies.
stress and to improve the dimensional stability has Then, a modified production technology was pro-
been carried out, which has yielded r e m a r k a b l e eco- posed based on the simulation analysis.
1 2]
nomic benefits'- . However, during the research
process, t h e s t r e s s changes are invisible and it is also
1 The Numerical Simulation Software
very difficult to measure the s t r e s s as well as the System
t e m p e r a t u r e distribution in castings. Hence, it is dif- Numerical simulation of the t e m p e r a t u r e distri-
ficult to reduce the residual s t r e s s by improving the bution in castings, the basis of stress simulation dur-
structure, material, and production technology of ing the casting process, has been t h o r o u g h l y studied
castings. and many commercial software products have been
Numerical simulation of the t e m p e r a t u r e and put into practical application in the foundry industry.
stress distributions in the casting process provides an A n analysis software, combining t e m p e r a t u r e and
advanced means to consider all these factors and to s t r e s s calculations, was developed to eliminate cast-
simulate the stress development and residual stress ing defects such as casting cracks and deformation.
distribution. T h e simulation results can be used to T h e s y s t e m flowchart is s h o w n in Fig. 1.
analyze all kinds of modifications and hence to devel-
1. 1 Technical considerations of the software system
op an optimal design. T h i s kind of technology has
T h e t e m p e r a t u r e field was calculated using F D M
Manuscript received: 1995-09-17 (finite difference m e t h o d ) while the stress distribu-
* Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation tion was calculated using FEM (finite element
of China method ) with the calculated t e m p e r a t u r e load t r a n s -
 Xiong Shoumei (^^"^O , et al: Numerical Simulation and Analysis of Residual Stress in
geometric model positioning
FEM
£ T?t?
F D model building | |
I ^ ^ É t h e r m a l Prop, lit
temperature
computation
^¿B-KiMiiuï
pa FD&FE y
Ijtemp. load f o r m i n g | |
*^&::::&:S:::tt&::y:y:Sa
Fig. 1 System strucure for simulating temperature
and stress distributions in castings
ferred from t h e F D M calculation a s s h o w n in Fig. 1.
A previously developed three-dimensional F D M soft-
ware s y s t e m so-called F T - s t a r w a s used for t h e tem-
perature simulation [ 4 ] , while for t h e s t r e s s simulation
a commercial F E M software s y s t e m w a s selected and
used.
The combined FDM/FEM technique, using
more efficient and less costly F D M , enabled t h e d e -
velopers t o concentrate on critical technical p r o b l e m s
related t o t h e s t r e s s simulation. I n t h e combined
analysis system, t h e main t a s k s w e r e generation of
the three-dimensional finite element meshes a n d in-
terfacing t h e F D M and F E M calculations.
1. 2 Three-dimensional FEM mesh generation
Since t h e finite difference m e s h e s can n o t b e
used in t h e F E M a l g o r t h m , t h e first step w a s t o gen-
erate three-dimensional F E M m e s h e s from t h e solid
model. A n interactive F E M mesh generation module
was developed using t h e initial three-dimensional sol-
id model files. Lofting a n d mapping m e t h o d s were
used in t h e software so t h a t t h e user could only deal
with geometric graphics after inputting t h e geometric
dimensions.
1. 3 Transferring temperature load
In t h e combined F D M / F E M system, one of t h e
critical problems is t o transfer t h e t e m p e r a t u r e load
in t h e finite difference ( F D ) model t o t h e finite ele-
ment ( F E ) model. T o solve this problem, a geomet-
ric positioning method related t o t h e casting process
177
FDM
1j i ü l boundry materials
^t«-w>>:-»ri^ft^jri^-?a
FE model pj J-«.;' ¡ ^
i il- m condition m p r o p e r t y ¡§
building tea . m}
^rj^ettiM ' ~ lib
JW-»'.'.M ' w ' y . w ■ ■ ■■'.■ ■ ■ ■.'.'•■ ■ ■. ■.■,■■■■■■„■■
-"■■■•■■■*■*■■ v t : : V g . » t . . » j , . ' £ . , : . ; . . . . : : . ■ . - :
J
f- • ■ ~"'-
was developed t o automatically match t h e F D and F E
models. Based on this matching mechanism, t h e tem-
perature load could then be automatically transferred
from F D M r e s u l t s t o F E M p r o g r a m .
2 Measurement of the High Tempera-
ture Mechanical Properties of Ma-
chine Tool Bed Casting Iron
T o accurately simulate t h e stresses of t h e ma-
chine tool bed iron casting required t h e measurement
of t h e high t e m p e r a t u r e mechanical properties of t h e
cast iron. A D S S - 2 5 T furnace u p t o a m a x i m u m t e m -
perature of 1 1 0 0 C w a s used t o heat and test a series
of standard test bars in t h e testing process. T h e cast
iron grade w a s H T 300 and t h e test b a r w a s 30 m m
in diameter. Initially, a 50 C t e m p e r a t u r e interval
was used for t h e testing process in t h e range of 2 0 ~
1 100 C . If t h e test results changed rapidly in a t e m -
perature interval, a smaller t e m p e r a t u r e interval w a s
used s o t h a t t h e variation of t h e s t r e s s - s t r a i n curve
with t e m p e r a t u r e could b e accurately measured. A t
least three stable test results were recorded at a given
t e m p e r a t u r e with t h e average used as t h e final result.
Typical measured s t r e s s - s t r a i n curves for H T 300
gray cast iron at different t e m p e r a t u r e s a r e s h o w n in
Fig. 2.
T h e test results show t h a t there exists n o obvi-
ous yield point during t h e tensile strain process for
H T 300 cast iron. A t lower t e m p e r a t u r e s , t h e m a t e -
rial s h o w s a n obvious elastic character while at high-
er t e m p e r a t u r e s it s h o w s a n obvious plastic charac-
 178
ter. The modules of elasticity, the modules of strain
hardening and the yield stress at different tempera-
tures were calculated using the measured stress at
different temperatures were calculated using the mea-
sured stress-strain curves. All the test data was
stored in the mechanical properties library in the
software system and could be accessed for the stress
calculation.
300 [ 400 TC
material : H T 300
Loading speed ; 6-67X10~ 5 /s
200 h
100
0 0,02 0.04 0.06 0.08
t ture data agreed well with the measured data. For all
Fig. 2 Stress-strain curves for HT 300
3 Temperature and Stress Simulation
in a Machine Tool Bed Casting
3. 1 Calculation and measurement of the tempera-
ture and residuals tress using current produc-
tion technology
The combined FDM/FEM system was used to
simulate the temperature and stress distributions in a
machine tool bed iron casting during the solidification
and cooling process using the current production
technology. The temperatures and residual stresses
in the casting were also measured to verify the simu-
lation results. Fig. 3 shows the geometric model of
the machine tool bed casting and the position of some
of the typical test points. There were a total of 19
strain gauges used for the residual stresses measure-
ment using the drilling holes and releasing stress
method. Besides, another 17 thermocouples were
used for the temperature measurement. For exam-
ple, some of the residual stresses were measured at
the points labeled a. b, c, etc. , while the temperature
was measured at point 7, as shown in Fig. 3. All the
test data was recorded by a computer aided multi-
channel data logging system.
The calculated temperature distributions in the
machine tool bed iron casting show that the casting
cooling conditions are uneven using current produc-
Tsinghua Science and Technology, June 1996. 1 (2): 179 — 183
Fig. 3 Geometric model of the machine
bed iron casting
tion technology. The side wall and the bottom of the
casting cool faster than the slideway and the tempera-
ture difference between the thicker and thinner parts
of the casting is quite large. The calculated tempera-
the test points, the mean square deviation was 14 C
and the maximum deviation was 55 C. Fig. 4 shows
the measured and calculated temperature variations at
point 7 during the solidification and cooling process.
All the calculated temperature data was stored for
use in the stress calculation.
The stress simulation process included two sim-
plifications. Since the machine tool bed iron casting
is long and heavy and there are only some small dif-
ferences in the local shapes along the length of the
slideway, it can be treated as symmetrical with only
a half of the casting to be considered in the stress
analysis. In addition, in order to focus on the stress
distribution along the slideway of the machine tool
bed casting, the head housing part of the casting was
ignored and an equivalent restraint was placed on the
cross section. These simplifications increased the ef-
ficiency of the simulation calculation.
The stress calculation showed that in the initial
stage of solidification, the side wall of the machine
tool bed casting cooled faster, resulting in a tension
zone in the side wall and a compressin zone in the
slideway. Fig. 5 shows the stress distribution after
40 minutes of solidification. As the solidification pro-
cess proceeded, the tension zone moved up from the
bottom of the side wall towards the slideway. After
solidifications, a tensile stress remained in the slide-
way with a compressive stress in the side wall. Fig. 6
shows the final residual stress distribution in the
casting. The calculated and measured residual stress-
I Xiong Shoumei t f t ? £ I. et at Numerical Smututivm and Amolytte of HtsUtmat Strni in ••* 179

1200c 1200

o measured
• calcula l t d O measured
• calculated
P aook
600
fc
400
400

20 40
f/min
Flfc. 4 Comparison oí measured and calculated temperature? al polst 7

Flg. 5 Siren dfctribulton after 40 «ÜB Fas- * Residual stress distribution

using current technology usine current technology

c» for some o í the test points are shown i u Fiu,. 7. deíleciion deformation in the catuingB, Therefore, a
3. 2 T e m p e r a t u r e and stress calculations using a modified production technology was proposed, in
modified production technology which chills were placed on the slide way so thai the

T h e tempe rature and stress simulation results cooling condition« could be more evenly distributed.

w i t h current production technology showed that the Further calculations of the temperature and stress

cooling conditions in the c o r i n g were not uniform, distributions were carried out t o verify the effective-

resulting in an uneven stress distribution and a larger ness of the modified production technology.

tensile »tress in the slideway. which might cause a The simulation results aTe shown in F i g . 8

measured
computed
100

iii IUJ4
50

a.
f 8 h

-SO
c <r i l f g h
poims ou *lidewav points un side wall

-100

Fig. 7 Cooiparijoa of calculated and maeaiured Fig. B Stress rfhirihution after 40 mln
results uclftf carrent technology at log modified technology
 180 TsiMtkMQ Seitmet sité Ttckmotegy. Jume 1936. I í2>: 179-183

it reduce* deformation* in the part, in addition, the

100 computed
SO
£
So
-50
-lOOl
Fig* 9 ftesMuttl itret» dbtribuUo» »Jog
mkùâàtièâ tetfcaotogjr
Fig- 9 and Fig- 10. T h e results show that the tern*
pera ture distribution ¡a more uniform using the modi-
fied production technology, resulting in a n improved
stress distribution. I n addition« there are no obvious
changes in the tensile or com pre« s i ve s tres es during
solidification and the tensile strees values decrease
greatly. A compressée stress remains in the slide-
way when the casting is fully cooled. T h i s w i l l be
better for gray cast iron, whose compresstve strength
is much higher t h a n the tensile strength, therefore.
Flf. 10 Coanfhiiod rt*ult* uslag modified ctehag conditions
residual compressive stress in the slide way helps pre-
vent the formation of cracks during quenching.
Therefore, the modified production technology is ef-
fective for reducing residual stresses and improving
dimensional stability of the machine tool bed casting.
4 Conclusions
J) A combined F D M / F E M analysis method wm>
developed to predict the temperature and stress dis
tributions in castings so as to optimize production
technology, reduce residual stresses, and improve di-
mensional stability of castings.
2) T h e high temperature material properties of
H T 300 cast iron were measured. T h e numerical sim-
ulation results agreed well w i t h the measured temper-
ature and stress distributions in a machine tool bed
iron casting using the current production technology.
3) A modified production technology was pro-
posed to reduce residual *tresaes. Numerical simula-
tion of the temperature and stress distribution» using
the modified conditions showed that the distribution
and value of residual atresses were more favorable to
dimensional stability.
References
1 Tsietiff T C* Kobayashi S» Stress analysis in aolidirtamon
process: application to continuous ca&ling. Internal tunal
Jon m A of Machine Toots and Manufacture. 19R9 29 (?> .
121^110
2 Wbca J W. Dan I ring J A. M ocie ling »ire** development
during the solidification of gray iron casting. Metallurgical
Transact«^ A. 199a 21A <Z> ; 4B9-497
3 Otauka y. Computer simulation of reatdual «ire«* in iron
cat tins;** Proceeding* of the 60th World Foundry
Congreas. Netherlands. 1993. No. 14
4 Jirtg Tao. Mei Qibo Liu Baicheng, Development and appli-
cation of a three dimerwional solidification ¿¡roulalion sys-
tem for foundry Industry. Proceedings of the 60th World
Foundry Congress, Netherlands 1993* No. 19