RSM-Based Approach to Optimize the Gating System in High Pressure Die Casting

Abstract:

High-Pressure Die Casting (HPDC) processes are often affected by complex thermo-fluid-dynamic phenomena that lead to casting defects and premature die degradation. In this study, an approach based on the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) is proposed to improve the quality of the cast part (aluminum window brackets) and extend the dies’ service life by introducing limited modification to the geometry of the die cavities.A multi-physics numerical model was initially built up to reproduce the filling and thermal behavior of the process. Infrared thermography, used to validate the numerical results, confirmed the accuracy of the model, with an average temperature error of approximately 2%. The analysis revealed that the baseline configuration (i.e. the dies’ geometry currently adopted in the industrial process) was characterized by non-negligible thermal imbalances (temperature gradients of about 50 °C and localized hot spots associated with high melt velocities), which reflected in the occurrence of flashes, metallization, and impression pad damage.New die geometries with the aim of improving the thermal uniformity while reducing the temperature gradients where investigated by varying the geometrical properties of the gating system according to a DoE-based approach. The numerical results, collected in terms of total amount of porosity in the casting critical areas, were used to train accurate metamodels that, in turns, were adopted as the starting base for a multi-objective optimization. Results from the optimization allowed to identify different scenario, each characterized by a specific geometry of the gating system able to remarkably reduce the occurrence of porosity in the cast part (up to 42% less than the current condition). The results demonstrate that the proposed methodology enables effective and sustainable optimization of HPDC processes without costly trial-and-error approaches.

• Periodical: Materials Science Forum (Volume 1188)
• Pages: 33-44
• Online since: April 2026
• Authors: Martina Campanella*, Antonio Piccininni, Angela Cusanno, Pasquale Guglielmi, Gianfranco Palumbo, Matteo Duraccio, Felice Lembo
• Keywords: Air Entrainment, High-Pressure Die Casting, Optimization, Response Surface Methodology

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