In order to comprehensively model both the performance and inspectability of early design stage, safety-critical aluminum castings, the size, shape and location of defects, such as pores, should be determined by simulation. In this work, the proposed two-dimensional model that couples hydrogen gas evolution and microporosity formation mechanisms with probabilistic grain nucleation to predict grain size, pore size, shape and location is experimentally evaluated. New experiments with improved casting geometry' are performed to test and verify the model. The effect of grain refinement on grain size and pore size for equiaxed aluminum alloy A356 is examined. From a comparison of experimental macro and micrometallographic images with simulation results, it is concluded that the model is able to simulate the effect of grain refinement on grain size, pore size and distribution. The predicted grain size and area fraction of porosity show good agreement with experimental observations.
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