Analysis of Manufacturing Processes for Metal Fiber Reinforced Aluminum Alloy Composite Fabricated by Low-Pressure Casting

A metal-fiber-reinforced aluminum alloy composite was fabricated through low-pressure casting and its optimum process conditions were determined. The direct finite difference method (DFDM) based on Darcyʹs law was used to calculate the pressure distribution inside the preform, and then the porosity inside the composite fabricated through low-pressure casting at 0.4–0.8 MPa was estimated. The relationship between the porosity and the pressure distribution inside the preform was also estimated. The porosity of the composites fabricated under the applied pressures of 0.4 MPa, 0.6 MPa, 0.7 MPa and 0.8 MPa was estimated to be 0.11%, 0.04%, 0.07% and 0%, respectively, at the pressure acceleration time of 1 s. Hence, the composite without pores was fabricated under the pressure of 0.8 MPa in applied pressure.