Prediction of tensile variability by simulations of microstructures having controlled variations of porosity in Mg-alloy pressure die-castings

Abstract

The spatial arrangement and heterogeneity of microstructural features, in particular, porosity in the cast microstructures, adversely affect the mechanical properties, and consequently lead to significant variability in the properties. Clearly, successful applications of cast alloys require production of castings that exhibit reproducible mechanical responses and low variability in the properties. Therefore, it is essential to thoroughly understand how the spatial arrangement and heterogeneity of porosity govern the mechanical properties. In this respect, new techniques that can simulate the microstructures with different degrees of spatial clustering and arrangement of porosity are presented. New parameters to describe different degrees of microstructural simulations were developed and corresponding virtual 2D microstructures were created. The simulated microstructures were implemented in a Finite Elements (FE) framework in order to study and predict the mechanical properties, which show a good agreement with the experiments.