Warm water scale model experiments for magnesium die casting

High-pressure die casting (HPDC) involves the filling of a cavity with the molten metal through a thin gate. High gate velocities yield jet break-up and atomization phenomena. In order to improve the quality of magnesium parts, the mold filling pattern, including atomization phenomena, needs to be understood. The goal of this study was to obtain experimental data on jet break-up characteristics for conditions similar to that of magnesium HPDC, and measure the droplet velocity and size distribution. A scale analysis is first presented in order to identify appropriate analogue for liquid magnesium alloys. Based on the scale analysis warm water was chosen as a suitable analogue and different nozzles were manufactured. A 2-D component phase Doppler particle analyzer (PDPA) and 2-D component particle image velocimetry (PIV) were then used to obtain fine particle diameter and velocity distributions in 2-D plane.