Experimental Design of a Microgravity Solidification Facility to Assist with Casting Simulation Verification

Computer simulation of the casting process is a cost effective way to predicting foundry process design outcomes. An objective of this project is to validate the capability of commercially available simulation software packages to predict the phenomena that occur during casting with or without considering gravitational forces. The validity of the results can be confirmed in experiments with appropriate analog systems, performed in variable gravity environments. The gravity profile in NASA's KC-135 aircraft, and the experimental apparatus that is used to observe the solidification and fluid flow characteristics of a metal analog in KC-135 environment are described in this paper.