Internal face finishing for a cooling channel using a fluid containing free abrasive grains

Abstract

In die-casting and injection molding, a conformal cooling channel is applied inside the dies and molds to reduce the cycle time. When the internal face of the channel is rough, both cooling performance and tool life are negatively affected. Many methods for finishing the internal face of such channels have been proposed. However, the effects of the channel diameter on the flow of a low-viscosity finishing media and its finishing characteristics for H13 steel have not yet been reported in the literature. This study addresses these deficiencies through the following: the fluid flow in a channel was computationally simulated; the flow behavior of abrasive grains was observed using a high-speed camera; and the internal face of the channel was finished using the flow of a fluid containing abrasive grains. The flow velocity of the fluid with the abrasive grains increases as the channel diameter decreases, and the velocity gradient is low throughout the channel. This enables reduction in the surface roughness for a short period and ensures uniform finishing in the central region of the channel; however, over polishing occurs owing to the centrifugal force generated in the entrance region, which causes the form accuracy of the channel to partially deteriorate. The outcomes of this study demonstrate that the observational finding for the finishing process is consistent with the flow simulation results. The flow simulation can be instrumental in designing channel diameters and internal pressures to ensure efficient and uniform finishing for such channels.