Concurrent CAE Method to Develop Aluminum Cylinder Head : Thermal Plastic-Elastic Analysis in Consideration of Metallurgical Microstructure

Abstract

Depending on casting methods, aluminum alloy cylinder heads differ greatly in quality and local strength as well as overall strength. Obviously, casting methods largely affect the durability of a cylinder head. Therefore, in order to precisely evaluate the durability of a newly-designed cylinder head by CAE, it is necessary to introduce a new method with the effects of a casting method taken into account. In our research, a method has been devised to be used in CAE in such processes from engineering to manufacturing for evaluation, More specifically, by using the method, metallurgical microstructure of cast aluminum alloy is analyzed by dividing cylinder head into such domains as lower deck, middle and upper deck parts for mechanical properties and a casting defect of porosity. The domain profile information on mechanical properties and porosity has helped us improve accuracy in the structural analysis.