Reconstruction and visualization of complex 3D pore morphologies in a high-pressure die-cast magnesium alloy

Visualization and representation of three-dimensional (3D) pore morphologies in the high-pressure die-cast Mg alloys are of significant interest for understanding and modeling processing–microstructure–properties relationships. In this contribution, an efficient and unbiased montage serial sectioning technique is applied for reconstruction of large volume (∼1.24 × 109 μm3) high-resolution (∼1 μm) 3D microstructure of a high-pressure die-cast AM50 Mg alloy containing gas (air) and shrinkage pores. The reconstruction of 3D microstructure from montage serial sections enables visualization and characterization of detailed 3D morphologies and spatial correlations of gas (air) and shrinkage pores. The reconstructed 3D microstructure is implemented in a 3D finite elements (FE) computational framework to illustrate how realistic complex microstructural feature morphologies can be incorporated in the simulations of micromechanical response of these high-pressure die-cast cast microstructures.