Concept development, design and validation of a novel continuous casting equipment

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a concept and design to cast Al alloys/metal matrix composites (MMCs) by continuous casting process. The various steps involved in the evolution of the design have been reported and discussed in this study. Design/methodology/approachOn the basis of developed design concept, initial prototype design has been prepared in this study. The casting process's melt flow pattern was studied via computer simulation, and the resulting changes were implemented in the original design. The single-phase fluid flow pattern through bottom feeding technique is studied. The equipment was fabricated based on computer simulation and water modelling studies. Finally, validation was performed for the preparation of Al alloys/ MMCs after parameter optimisation. The results were observed in the optical metallography to confirm the alloying and Al MMC preparation. FindingsThe developed continuous casting process with bottom feeding technique for the addition of constituent particles shows more efficiency in comparison to the existing batch processes. The final manufactured setup demonstrates effective Al alloy/MMC production as the basis for final fabrication has been accomplished by both computer simulation and water model test. In addition, the microstructure exhibits homogeneous distribution, validating the reliability of the setup. Originality/valueIntegrating continuous casting with continuous reinforcement or master alloy addition is novel in this area. The constraints that batch production had that have been rectified will also lower the contemporary cost of production.