A coupled thermo-mechanical simulation of three-dimensional squeeze casting components has been conducted by using ANSYS software according to the basic principle and characteristics of the squeezing casting.Some factors influencing simulation were taken into account

such as effect of volume shrinkage due to cooling and solidification

the mechanical behavior of materials under evaluated temperatures

the characteristics of latent heat release

and the mutual dependence of interfacial heat transfer and casting deformation in the simulation.A step-shaped trial-part was simulated

which demonstrated the ability of the method to simulate the pressure transmit and fading inside the castings.Finally

the method was applied to simulate the solidification of an automotive subframe component

and the squeeze casting process of the component was optimized based on the simulated results.