A study on the S/W application for a riser design process for fabricating axisymmetric large offshore structures by using a sand casting process

Abstract

The effects of the location and dimension of the gate, location, and volume of the feeder, application of a chill, chill volume, and heating method of the feeder with respect to the effect of the mold-designing technologies on the defect status of the products are described. It is possible to increase the solidification time of the feeder by heating feeder. Furthermore, the pressure generated from the feeder is imposed on a product, and this decreases the generation of shrinkage porosities. In this study, two types of gating and feeding systems had been proposed: the bottom L-type junctions and the top L-type junctions. Additionally, solidification behaviors, such as solidification time, shrinkage porosities, weight percentage of chill system to product, hot spot, and solidification time ratio (=Solidification time of feeder/solidification time of product), are extensively analyzed by using commercial casting simulation software. Based on the solidification behaviors, reasonable mold design, feeding system, critical feeder heating temperature, and solidification time ratios are proposed in the sand casting process for the fabrication of carrier housing in order to reduce the casting defects and to increase the recovery rate. Keywords: Axisymmetric large offshore structures, Recovery rate, Feeding system, Chill system, Solidification time ratio