Numerical process modelling and simulation of campbell running systems designs

In the 1980s, John Campbell developed a new casting process from his research in the industry over a number of years. The Cosworth process was for delivering very high-quality aluminium components for the automotive industry. The process was very capital-intensive and not very flexible for smaller companies delivering lower volumes of product. However, the principles behind the process have been taken and used to develop a range of different so-called running systems to help improve the quality of castings. Some of these designs have been published in ‘Castings Handbook’ [1] authored by Campbell. This paper presents the results of an MSc project during which a number of the proposed designs from Campbell’s Mini Casting Handbook [2] for certain features in running systems have been modelled using a validated CFD software.