A SiCp/Al composite disk brake casting for a high-speed application is produced using an adjustable vacuum pressure casting method specially developed for the production of SiCp/Al composite castings with complex structure. Feeding path during the solidification process of the disk brake casting is investigated by solidification simulation with a ProCAST code and checked by measurement of cooling curves. The simulation results match well with the measured cooling curves, which shows that the results of solidification simulation can be well used for a SiCp/Al composite casting production. With the help of solidification simulation, it is easy to establish a suitable feeding path that is the key technology for producing sound castings with the adjustable vacuum pressure casting method. Different casting plans with gating systems and chills are simulated and an improved casting plan for the disk brake casting is proposed based on the research presented in this paper. The casting quality is checked and confirmed by X-ray inspection and destructive inspection, which shows that the casting has few internal defects.

Keywords: SiCp/Al composite disk brake; vacuum adjustable pressure casting; solidification simulation; non destructive and destructive inspections